#anyway this is not a new experience for any of them except Blake

[miraculousagentsofkrypton]

Fun fact about this scene. Blake's not just the most affected because of her extra ears; she's also the only one of this group we've never seen Ruby carry. In fact, they're are the only ones we've seen Ruby carry until that point. I think Yang's the only other one after, but she's literally her sister, obviously she's been carried.

[razorblade180]

Interdimensional Moms: Bonus

Part 4 here<-

After many tears and tissue boxes, all members of team RWBY had finally stopped crying. Blake was the best off with her eyes a little red while Ruby was the complete opposite. The girl’s face was still rather red and her eyes were puffy. She hadn’t even completely stopped sniffling yet; much like tear marked partner. Yang on the other hand rested her head on the table. She had cried hard enough to giver herself a minor headache. She was completely drained.

Yang:Ugh, this blows! I thought this was gonna be a fun learning experience.

Blake:We definitely learned. It just so happens we had to poke at some.... extremely sensitive topics.

Weiss:I’m all for looking inward and self reflection but I’ve had my fill.

Ruby:Same. Should’ve kept the summary light.

Yang:No, I’m glad you got that off your chest. We just need a way to lighten the mood.

Blake:.....I kicked Weiss’s butt in a tournament.

RWY:......What?

Blake:During the time spent training for Salem, another tournament was held between the schools. It had team matches and singles. I kicked Weiss’s butt in my fourth round. It was a good day.

Weiss:How is that lightening mood!?

Blake:Listen, it was a big deal! I never thought I was gonna win the whole tournament but I really wanted to beat you. I love you but your head gets a little big when you’re on a roll for too long; plus I just really didn’t want to lose. I always felt a bit of rivalry between us.

Yang:Hehe, is that you’re way of saying “It would look bad to lose to a Schnee?”

Blake:Well it would!

Ruby:Hehehe.

Yang:Wait, does that mean we went back to school?

Blake:Yeah. It was pretty comforting. There was definitely a lot left to learn.

Yang:Weird. School kinda faded into the background.

Ruby:I went back to school. We all did actually. It was fast tracked by roughly a year but it was fun. We all got to pose in caps and gowns.

Weiss:Damn! I should’ve went back just for that. Unfortunately I was busy making rent and learning how to properly preheat a oven.

Yang:It’s like two buttons.

Weiss:Gas stove, and six years out of date.

Yang:Awww, you had to learn the hard way. I’m surprised and thankful you never left the gas on.

Weiss:There’s an alarm for that. Also I’m not irresponsible! Anyways, I mentioned similar tournaments earlier. I didn’t participate much but enough old videos of me in them were enough for to really light a fire under my kids. For awhile I was a bit concerned that they were just following a trend but they really love it. They used to always go around playing like knights when they were tiny.

Ruby:Carmine was a little different. She definitely always tried doing things I could but nothing got the girl jumping like seeing Yang’s horses or new ballet shoes. There wasn’t a morning when I didn’t hear a vase fall over or seeing her spin like a top. Carmine still hums some old routines when she isn’t paying attention.

Yang:Not too many memories of Yujin when she was pint size. But I do remember that wild child always loved using my bandannas for everything! Napkins, capes, ropes; anything but an actual bandanna. I used to get a bit upset with the napkin one but she’d always look at me with her big eyes and crazy hair. I never stayed mad.

Weiss:Softie.

Yang:She was like a pudgy puff ball! Fat cheeks and wholesome smiles. Ah! So adorable!

Weiss:I used to always have at least one of my kids on my hip when I was out and about. I think the media has a magazine amount of pictures of me at the park kissing my babies. Summer liked tummy rubs. She’d never go to sleep without one. Some nights I’d sing too but start to doze off so Jaune would have to take over.

Yang:*smiles* Speaking of Jaune.....

Ruby:No.

Yang:You don’t even know what I was-

Ruby:Were you about to suggest we compare our Jaune’s in the bedroom?

Yang:*red*......Well not just the bedroom! What’s the harm!? I just wanna know if he’s consistent across the board. No need to get detailed.

Weiss:You really never change no matter the world.

Yang:Can’t change greatness. It shows in any form!

Blake:He’s pretty compliant and accommodating. The benefits of being his first when I had prior knowledge I suppose.

Ruby:Don’t answer!

Blake:Why not? I’m comfortable with it.

Yang:Don’t listen to those two Blake. They’re just a bit more embarrassed since Jaune has literally been their one and only.

Blake:Huh, I never thought about it like that. Jaune would’ve been the first person you two opened up to on such a level; especially Weiss.

Yang:That’s still hilarious. All the protesting and somehow you found yourself stripping for the guy.

Weiss:Shut up! I already know! It was....I.... *blushing* emotions ran really high.

Ruby:An entire mental rollercoaster of thoughts and firsts happening all at once. Anxiety was high.

Yang:Heh, so you could say that Jaune Arc-

RW:Got through our walls. Hardy har har.

Yang:Shit, I am the same in every universe. Well I don’t have any reservations about it! *grinning* He makes me feel special every time!

Blake:Bottom.

Yang:I’m ignoring you.🎶

Ruby:Hehe, sounds about right. He...might make me feel a bit special as well.

Blake:Switch.

Ruby:How can you just guess off of that!?

Blake:It’s a gift.

Weiss:......

Blake:*smiling*

Weiss:Leave me alone.

Blake:I don’t know what has you embarrassed. You told us you’ve slept with everyone here except Ruby! I knew you were repressed but geez.

Weiss:For your information it wasn’t my idea! It was yours!

Blake:Not surprising. Let’s switch the topic. How is this other child of mine? Can’t picture me having a daughter.

Weiss:Veronica is very sensitive. Even if she tries to act like she isn’t. One time when she was tiny, a soccer ball hit her straight in the face and she sprung up saying “I’m fine!” Then you took her behind the bleachers to patch her up; tears all on her face. It both breaks my heart and very adorable to see her act fine while her ears are folded back.

Ruby:Your other son Kovu was a bit of cry baby. Partly my fault. Carmine kept beating him up and making fun of him.

Blake:What!?

Yang:Ha! Wait, that’s my kid too. How the heck!? Are you telling me you raised the rowdy child and I got the baby?

Ruby:Yang you’re a baby. I’m like twice as rowdy compared to you. A nevermore got worked day one at school.

Weiss:She has a point. You cry the most out of any of us.

Yang:Wha- that not- how....shut up! *pouts* I’m not that touchy.

Ruby:Kovu is a sweetie and not a cry baby. Carmine is just a little mean when she tries to care about others. She beat him up in an attempt to make Kovu give up dreaming about being a huntsman. That way he wouldn’t be in such a dangerous job. Reasonable logic but you know, a little over the top. Almost broke his arm. Boy did I chew her out. All it did was make him want to try harder.

Yang:Fantastic. I shouldn’t expect less from my own blood. I bet Yujin would like him. Which reminds me, anybody have kids in relationships?

RWB:We’re working on it.

The three women paused briefly before laughing at their meddling. Yang could only admire and fear her friends.

Yang:Should I be scared for your children?

Blake:Lucas needs someone to break up the routine in his life. I’m not saying he has to date her, but it would put a smile on my face.

Ruby:Carmine takes after me, not really thinking about stuff like relationships much. However, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t at all. Carmine tries her best to not act like she’s a teenaged girl with teenage wishes. But everyone sees right through it. I’m fine with her not being in one but I would like if she acknowledged that it’s okay to just....ugh, be normal! Why can nobody have normal knees in my life!?

Weiss:Nick likes Valerie who tries to deny she likes him by liking Summer, who doesn’t like her; while Veronica crushes on Nick who obviously has conflicting feelings.

RBY.....

Yang:Why is it always complicated with you?

Weiss:How is this my fau- okay it is a little bit.

Blake:Where do you stand?

Weiss:I think Valerie would be lovely for him.

Yang:What’s wrong with my baby girl!?

Blake:Yeah!?

Weiss:One, not yours. Two, have you met who I’m married to? Can’t really say he’s wasting his efforts. Though I wouldn’t be upset with Veronica. I think those two might be good for each other.

Blake:Any other bombshells people got?

Ruby:......

Ruby:Ilia is happily married.*sips coffee*

Blake:Oh that’s wonderful! I’m glad she found a loving wi-

Ruby:*smirks* To Sun.

Blake:....*stands up* I need, champagne!

A bottle of champagne poofs into existence with several glasses. Blake immediately pours everyone a glass before raising hers into the sky.

Blake:Ruby Rose, today you’ve erased guilt upon my conscious. I’m happy there’s one world where it seems all of my good exes get over me.

Ruby:Are the Ilia and Sun where you’re from miserable like Yang!?

Blake:No, but they kinda fumble in actually going for relationships. It just always makes me feel a little bad.

Yang:You can technically count two worlds. I’m fine, Ilia is dating a pretty secretary, and your one evil ex is now raising a morally good family.

Blake:You’re right! This calls for a double toast! To alternate universes! *puts glass down*

Weiss:Haha, aren’t you gonna drink it!?

Blake:No I’m still recovering; but how could I pass up the opportunity!? Man I wish I could attend that wedding! I don’t know if I’d be a bridesmaid or the best man!

Yang:You’re just gonna steal Neptune’s thunder like that?

Blake:Hey, Sun and I have taken bullets for each other and stab wounds. I think I deserve to be a little greedy and say I ride or die for that man just a little harder than Neptune.

Ruby:Geeeeeez Blake! Haha, I didn’t even tell you about the baby.

Blake:*visble excitement* Excuse me!?

RWY:*raises glass* Cheers.

Blake:CHEERS! What’s he like!?

xxxxx

Aero:AAAACHOOOO!

Carmine:Eugh! Cover your mouth! I don’t need to get sick.

Aero:Damn! What happened to uh I don’t know, “bless you!?”

Carmine:*pulls out tissues* Happy?

Aero:Where...why are those in you book bag?

Carmine:It’s flu season.

Aero:....I can’t tell if you’re the coolest person around or just a second mother.

Carmine:I can be both. My mom is arguably both but don’t tell her that. It’ll make her month and she’ll hug me too tight.

Aero:Bitch, you love hugs. Stop being difficult.

Carmine:Mmmm nah.

Aero:I feel bad for your mom.

Carmine:I feel bad for yours.

Aero:Hop off. You’re so childish.

Carmine:And yet you love me.

Aero:*red* In your dreams!

Carmine:It would make your day if I dreamed about you,wouldn’t it?

Aero:I hope you dream of spiders.

Carmine:We do not joke about that! *grabs him* Aero I will beat you up if I dream of them tonight! That’s just mean!

Aero:Stop crying ya baby. I could’ve said they were- ow!

Sun:*hitting him* Shut up and just kiss something! We’re trying to watch a game.

Aero and Carmine:We don’t like each other!

Jaune:With all do respect, that’s a lie. But please by all means Aero, continue not touching my daughter if you know what’s best for you. I don’t wanna have to fight you and your parents right afterwards.

Sun:Ilia would kill you.

Jaune:Yeah! That’s why I don’t want the fight! Much like Ruby, she’s short and terrifying. Her size holds the rage.

Ilia:*peeks in* Who’s talking shit?

JASC:Nobody, we love you!

Ilia:.....Got my eyes on you four. *holds Garnet up* and this one; the most well behaved in this bunch even with no nap.

Garnet:*fussy grumbling* I’m a ball of rage!

Ilia:You wanna nap?

Garnet:Yes!!!

Ilia:See, behaved. *walks away* don’t make me come back out here.

Carmine:....So do you like me because your mother is also imposing?

Aero:This is it, my evil origin story. It begins today.

xxxxx

Ruby:I admire his patience.

[masterweaverx]

So I’d like to open this by saying I’m autistic, and I generally operate on the presumption that I don’t understand anyone--at least, not without some investigation and interaction. Take everything I say with a grain of salt.

Recently, I’ve seen posts about an interesting paradox regarding representation; a lot of writers want to include XYZ group, but don’t want to risk doing it ‘wrong.’ Thus characters are Gay/Trans/Bi/Jewish/Islam/Black/Whatever and, yet, this is unimportant. Or we have tokenistic characters where being a member of This Group is their defining and, in fact, only character trait. Either too little, or too much. Or maybe they’re background characters, done right except for the part where they don’t affect the plot.

I think there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of representation is influencing this. We’re thinking of the group as archetype--a statue that is All Defined and we put clothes on it and make it move. But... paradoxical as it seems, being a member of a group is but one of many possible character traits. And the thing about character traits is that they affect a character, and through that influence the plot, but they rarely dominate the plot unless the plot is specifically about that character trait.

To take a fantastical and therefore somewhat obvious example: Blake Belladonna, from the Web Show RWBY, has cat ears. This is A Very Big Deal, because fantasy racism and also because she’s good at hearing things. A big part of the plot is her saying “This is how my cat ears affect me, and how having cat ears affects my parents, and how I’m reacting.” But having cat ears is not her only trait--and in fact, they’re not her defining trait.

Blake enters the series having just escaped a psychologically abusive relationship. That affects how she acts around the strangers that will become her new friends, and how she’s afraid her parents will never love her again. She’s also quite well-read, which gives her an interesting conversation with character Ruby Rose at the start of the series about fairy tales and real life. She has a ninja-like combat skill and a samurai-like sense of honor, so in situations that involve protecting others she never gives up (even if she thinks she herself isn’t worthy of love at the start of the series, see abusive relationship). And she wants to make the world a better place for a number of reasons--she’s been hurt by it, she’s hurt the world herself, and it’s just the right thing to do.

All of this, and a few other factors, combine to affect how she acts and reacts to the plot of the series. When the Fantasy Racism comes up, yes, her cat ears are important--but they don’t just snap out of existence when Yang Xiao Long says “Okay, it’s time for me to talk about my abandonment issues!” or when Cinder Fall says “My bad guy contract says I have to be malevolent now.” Blake’s ears let her hear small details, and her treatment because of them has her cautious about who to trust--very, VERY important things to the plot that, nonetheless, aren’t specifically about Cat Ear Racism.

One big example I can think of is her confrontation with her abusive ex, who at this point has just gone straight up Yandere and is blaming her for everything. The scene is not about her having cat ears--in fact, the cat ears are not at all included in all the false accusations he throws out. But, because she can hear something he doesn’t, she’s able to reposition herself and let her partner join in, dramatically shifting the direction of the scene.

The character trait affects the character’s action, and through that influences the plot. It has weight, but it’s not the only trait the character has. This is true for any character trait, no matter how fantastical or realistic.

May Marigold, from the same series, is a transgender woman. And she’s not just there to say “I need my Estrogen pills!” every four hours, but neither is her being transgender just a Neat Factoid You Find In The Manual. It influences her character--pretty clearly in one scene, where she outright states her biological relatives are no longer family--but it doesn’t mean she’s just The Trans Character. And, actually, let’s take her big speech as an example of what I mean.

Weiss: People are dying here, too. Don’t you have family in Atlas?

May: No. Mantle needed me, and to the Marigolds, that meant I wasn’t their son anymore. And I made sure that everyone knew that I wasn’t their daughter. So forget ‘em. They’ve got Henry, yours have Whitley. You get what I’m saying.

Weiss: I don’t know about-

May angrily turns to face Weiss.

May: Which side are you on, anyway?

Blake: We’ve heard that before.

May steps toward Blake to confront her, but Ruby chimes in.

Ruby: There are no sides! We want to help everyone. We’re all facing Salem together. And together is the only way we’re going to get out of it.

May: (sighs) So, how exactly do we get out of it?

As the group ponders their situation, Whitley Schnee can be seen in the hallway eavesdropping on the conversation.

The point of this scene isn’t “May is trans.” It’s that she had a very bad relationship with her biological relatives, to the point where they don’t consider each other family--and that as a result of that, she associated Atlas with all that’s wrong with the world and thinks Weiss should too, since Weiss ostensibly has a similar background. Her being transgender very clearly influences her speech, but it’s not the driving aspect of the plot. In fact, Whitley overhearing this and being compared to Henry (previously established as pretty shallow and horrible) directly causes him to affect the plot by becoming as helpful as he can. This is entirely unrelated to her being transgender, and much more related to her biological relatives being horrible people.

May is, in fact, somewhat in the wrong here--but it’s in character for her to be in the wrong, as she’s basing her choices off her own experiences. That said, she’s also got a sort of ‘cool anger’ in her speech--she’s used to people not getting why she’d be insulted (since not many people would instantly get transgenderism) and so keeps her tone calm even when she’s glaring at Weiss. It’s not until Weiss begins to directly contradict her that she snaps--again, another factor of transgender life is too many people saying ‘You sure? You could be wrong.’ This is all behavior that makes sense for a transgender person, considering their likely experiences, but applied to a subject that is not explicitly about transgenderism--in this case, whether Atlas or Mantle is more important to save from big bad Salem.

Character traits affect the characters, and through them influence the plot. But the character is never just one trait, and the plot is rarely about just one thing. May is an excellent character--she’s snarky, but willing to guide the youngsters, loyal to those who care about others, encouraging and realistic, very much a person who got saddled with too much responsibility in way too short a time and is trying her best. And she’s transgender, and that affects how she acts, both when she’s being great and when she’s slipping up.

If you want to write representation, don’t write The Whatever Character. Write a character that happens to be whatever.

[netflixaddictedd]

10 lesbian books you should read

Leah on the offbeat: When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. She’s an anomaly in her friend group: the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon. So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting—especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended. (Make sure to read Simon vs the homosapiens agenda before Reading this)

Her royal highness: Millie Quint is devastated when she discovers that her sort-of-best friend/sort-of-girlfriend has been kissing someone else. Heartbroken and ready for a change of pace, Millie decides to apply for scholarships to boarding schools . . . the farther from Houston the better. Soon, Millie is accepted into one of the world's most exclusive schools, located in the rolling highlands of Scotland. Here, the country is dreamy and green; the school is covered in ivy, and the students think her American-ness is adorable. The only problem: Mille's roommate Flora is a total princess. She's also an actual princess. Of Scotland. At first, the girls can't stand each other, but before Millie knows it, she has another sort-of-best-friend/sort-of-girlfriend. Princess Flora could be a new chapter in her love life, but Millie knows the chances of happily-ever-afters are slim . . . after all, real life isn't a fairy tale . . . or is it?

The price of salt: Therese, a struggling young sales clerk, and Carol, a homemaker in the midst of a bitter divorce, abandon their oppressive daily routines for the freedom of the open road, where their love can blossom. But their newly discovered bliss is shattered when Carol is forced to choose between her child and her lover.

The miseducation of Cameron Post: When Cameron Post's parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they'll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl. But that relief doesn't last, and Cam is forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone, and Cam becomes an expert at both. Then Coley Talor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship, one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to "fix" her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self even if she's not quite sure who that is.

Late to the party: Seventeen is nothing like Codi Teller imagined. She’s never crashed a party, never stayed out too late. She’s never even been kissed. And it’s not just because she’s gay. It’s because she and her two best friends, Maritza and JaKory, spend more time in her basement watching Netflix than engaging with the outside world. So when Maritza and JaKory suggest crashing a party, Codi is highly skeptical. Those parties aren’t for kids like them. They’re for cool kids. Straight kids. But then Codi stumbles upon one of those cool kids, Ricky, kissing another boy in the dark, and an unexpected friendship is formed. In return for never talking about that kiss, Ricky takes Codi under his wing and draws her into a wild summer filled with late nights, new experiences, and one really cute girl named Lydia. The only problem? Codi never tells Maritza or JaKory about any of it.

Annie on my mind: Liza begins to doubt her feelings for Annie after someone finds out about their relationship, and realizes, after starting college, that her denial of love for Annie was a mistake.

Tell me again how a crush should feel: Leila has made it most of the way through Armstead Academy without having a crush on anyone, which is a relief. As an Iranian American, she’s different enough; if word got out that Leila liked girls, life would be twice as hard. But when beautiful new girl Saskia shows up, Leila starts to take risks she never thought she would. As she carefully confides in trusted friends about Saskia’s confusing signals, Leila begins to figure out that all her classmates are more complicated than they first appear to be, and some are keeping surprising secrets of their own.

It's not like it's a secret: Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like the fact that her father may be having an affair. And then there’s the one that she can barely even admit to herself—the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend. When Sana and her family move to California, she begins to wonder if it’s finally time for some honesty, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez. Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana’s ever known. There are just a few problems: Sana's new friends don't trust Jamie's crowd; Jamie's friends clearly don't want her around anyway; and a sweet guy named Caleb seems to have more-than-friendly feelings for her. Meanwhile, her dad’s affair is becoming too obvious to ignore. Sana always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wants to date a girl, but as she quickly learns, telling the truth is easy…what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated.

Juliet takes a breath: Juliet Milagros Palante is a self-proclaimed closeted Puerto Rican baby dyke from the Bronx. Only, she's not so closeted anymore. Not after coming out to her family the night before flying to Portland, Oregon, to intern with her favorite feminist writer--what's sure to be a life-changing experience. And when Juliet's coming out crashes and burns, she's not sure her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan--sort of. Her internship with legendary author Harlowe Brisbane, the ultimate authority on feminism, women's bodies, and other gay-sounding stuff, is sure to help her figure out this whole "Puerto Rican lesbian" thing. Except Harlowe's white. And not from the Bronx. And she definitely doesn't have all the answers . . .In a summer bursting with queer brown dance parties, a sexy fling with a motorcycling librarian, and intense explorations of race and identity, Juliet learns what it means to come out--to the world, to her family, to herself.

Style: Kyle Blake likes plans. So far, they’re pretty simple: Finish her senior year of high school, head off to a good college, find a cute boyfriend, graduate, get a good job, get married, the whole heterosexual shebang. Nothing is going to stand in the way of that plan. Not even Stella Lewis. Stella Lewis also has a plan: Finish her senior year as cheer captain, go to college, finally let herself flirt with (and maybe even date) a girl for the first time and go from there. Fate has other plans for Kyle and Stella when they’re paired up in their AP English class and something between them ignites. It’s confusing and overwhelming and neither of them know what to do about it. One thing they do know is that their connection can’t be ignored. The timing just isn’t right. But is there ever a good time for falling in love?

[cosmokyrin]

Metamorphosis

Summary: A “supplemental” / “missing scene” fic for V8C12. This takes place inside the Manta ship as they were heading for the Vault.

Ship: Ruby Rose / Penny Polendina

Rating: Teen

Length: 1,132 words

Notes: I'm posting this for the informal event within the N&D community to commemorate the anniversary of the RWBY Chibi Fireflies episode! I hadn't had time to make anything longer than this, so I latched onto the more recent ideas I had. I wrote this a sort of "supplemental" scene that I felt was lacking for the recent episode, in light of Penny's transformation.

Link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30103029

(Full story also here)

***

It was always the darkest before the dawn.

Faint rays of sunlight that lined the dusted crimson sky sat on Penny's face as Blake and Yang assisted her inside the Manta. Despite the help of her friends, walking was an effort. All inside her ached. Jaune was right behind her, the strength of his hand and Semblance keeping her steady. Then as they reached inside the ship, she felt his hand leave her shoulder; in the deep recesses of her mechanical shell, she once again felt the grips of the virus rumbling from within.

"I gave her a large boost. The Aura amp should last until you guys get to the Vault," Jaune said.

"Thanks, Jaune," Ruby said, hugging her fellow leader before she hopped to the ship. The two exchanged nods as the aircraft started to lift off the air.

The ride wasn't going to be long. Not that they had much time in their hands anyway. They knew the virus could emerge again sooner, and what they didn't know was how much more Penny could fight the temptation to succumb. There were only the four of them to hold her back. Klein was busy piloting the ship, Willow was rusty in battle, and Whitley barely had combat experience. Just less than an hour ago, the nine of them almost weren't enough, if not for Penny's own self fighting it.

Penny closed her hands together. She tried not to think about the virus, but her awareness wouldn't dare linger to anything else than scanning her systems. The offender was still wreaking havoc in her code, and it took a great amount of her will to correct it. Thankfully, Blake and Yang's presence at each of her sides brought much comfort.

But Penny thought it didn't have to be like this. If only she didn't take the Maiden powers. If only she let Winter have this. Then maybe they wouldn't have been so divided. Then maybe she didn't need to heavily burden the group in trying to save her. Maybe their plans would have gone better. Maybe she would be with Pietro right now, telling him she's alive and alright. Maybe the Kingdom would have been safe now. If only...

If only she wasn't built that way.

The unpleasant words yelled at the back of her mind even louder than the virus that told her to open the vault and self-terminate. Every time the virus screamed, forcing her soul into chains, she desperately waded through the ropes of control within her consciousness. But more effective than it in washing her away was the voice that told her, it's because you're like that.

Penny was ready to believe that.

But the person who now knelt before her was not.

Two hands placed itself above hers. Even for a moment, for a little more, the terrible voice quieted as silver eyes looked at her, graced with a smile that encapsulated her in a feeling of safety. Penny relaxed and smiled back. Blake and Yang gave both Penny and Ruby a knowing look, standing up and huddling to another corner in the ship. Ruby sat beside Penny, hands still over hers.

“Hey,” Ruby softly said. Penny recalled the same tone from when they were in the Snowshoe warehouse. Despite the violations on her bodily control, she nonetheless felt a tug inside her. She didn’t want to get close to anyone just yet, but the urge was enough to have her lean slightly towards Ruby. The shorter girl wasted no time and wrapped one arm around her back, the other refusing to leave her folded hands.

“I’m… I’m scared, Ruby,” Penny admitted, her voice small and withdrawn.

“We’ll be there for you, Penny. I promise.”

Penny looked at Ruby, the worries drawn within her expression. “I...I always thought my... body was alright the way it is.”

"It is, Penny."

"But they-" Penny clenched her fists tight. "They're using my own body against me. Against my friends. Against my will." She gazed at her hands. "I wish I was enough."

Ruby pulled her closer. "You already are.”

Penny shut her eyes, trying to calm the voice that was resurging. She felt Ruby’s hand grip her waist tighter. As she opened her eyes, her gaze remained fixed on her hands. “But didn’t this all happen because… of this part of me? This part of me that I’ve already learned to... love?”

Ruby brushed her fingers up and down on Penny’s waist. “Sometimes… we all wish there were things about us that we could… replace. Or leave behind.” Penny just slightly missed the brief moment of hurt within Ruby’s eyes.“ Often that’s impossible. And we just accept that. Learn to live with it. Learn to see the bright side of it,” Ruby stared distantly to the side. “But there are also things... we can’t carry forever. Sometimes, these things we choose to carry... they slowly destroy us,” Ruby looked at Penny. “Then we have to make a choice. The choice to let go.” 

Penny’s shoulders dropped. Ever since she reawakened in her new body, assigned to watch over Mantle day and night, the thought never left. As time passed, the exploitability of her nature perpetually knocked from the back of her mind, lying within the grim memories when she learned about the Fall of Beacon. She always knew her body was a liability. She knew that, maybe in the end -- the multiple swords of Floating Array, the multifunctionality of her hands, the speed at which she can adjust to threats, the X-ray vision, the special functions of her eyes, the flight ability her father had gifted her, the things she loved about herself, the things that were part of herself -- will be something she would have to let go. She knew that one day, perhaps, she will be forced to fight her friends against her will. And that everything she feared would happen. 

She just didn’t expect it so soon.

“I do not want any more of this, Ruby. If… if this body will no longer reflect who I am, then...” Penny searched for silver eyes, for her comfort. “What will be left of me?”

“Everything you truly are.” Ruby wrapped her in a warm, full embrace. Penny didn’t understand what warmth was except for what she had associated them with. But nevertheless she felt it. She felt it in her soul.

And with that, Penny hoped her soul was enough.

The wrecked underside of the Vault was coming into view. The crimson sky had already turned into a dusty orange, and the sun seemed brighter than ever. Blake and Yang were at her side once more, helping her to her feet.

With one last look at her torn gloves, she bid farewell to the things she loved.

[kitkatopinions]

Blake has nothing going on for her now or in the future except Yang and to a lesser extent her team. These are the consequences of bungling the faunus storyline and replacing it with nothing. They've cleaned their hands of Blake's personality and goals. Like you said ship bait is all that's left.

Blake is honestly the worst treated character amongst Team RWBYJNR + Oscar imo, and tbh, I think even Qrow gets a better rep than her. And that’s saying something, because Qrow has been so badly handled.

The worst thing about this for me is the wasted potential. Blake was really wrapped up in their horribly bungled racism/faunus allegory even more so than Weiss. There are obviously problems with how CRWBY continues to try to use the racism/faunus allegory in some problematic ways rather than dropping it completely, without seeming to put in any effort to actually fix it. Blake’s story being so wholly wrapped up in the faunus racism arc had made her character problematic (for instance, she looks hypocritical for being totally against reactive violence in the case of the White Fang, but is training to be a Huntress and is just fine ripping through White Fang members.) Blake has a lot of good to her character from volumes 1-5 if you can separate her from the bungled allegory however (although I totally understand when people just can’t do that.)

Removing Blake from the faunus/racism arc doesn’t have to leave her with nothing as a blank sheet that must be built from the ground up, her character should’ve stayed the same. Blake’s base character at the start of the show that remains pretty dang consistent for five seasons is cynical, stubborn, defensive, active, passionate, focused, someone who has more life experience and a bit of a darker worldview than her friends, someone who has a hard time making friends anyway, a fairly quiet, independent girl with a tendency to run when things get to be too much and tends to self-destruct and push people away, but is still brave and selfless, with a moral code she believes in (although misused, a character that believes things like ‘stealing is always wrong’ is not an uninteresting one. Blake’s moral code was just used badly.) Blake also has a more subdued way of expressing her affections. A few things about Blake - like her tendency to run, many of her insecurities, pushing people away, and self-destructing - started to get worked through and addressed in an actually meaningful way during volumes 4 and 5 (although her resolution with Yang was wonky, but I could talk more about that in a different post.) However, in good narratives, these traits don’t just go away because they start getting worked through. For instance, just because Zuko in ATLA turns to the good side and starts addressing his trauma and working through his anger issues doesn’t mean he isn’t snippy, hotheaded, and prone to outbursts anymore. And for another instance, just because Yang starts trying to control her temper doesn’t mean she’s no longer prone to anger based reactions, snapping, being defensive, and getting into fights.

While Ruby, Weiss, and Yang read as more consistent even if there characters are going in a bad direction - Ruby’s always been reckless and considered her team the end all, her character now is the incredibly frustrating result of this never getting checked or worked through - but Blake is severely lacking in many of her old traits.

Blake has become an incredibly passive character who can’t stand up for herself and tends to just go along with whatever Ruby wants, and is more than willing to steal and lie and let others steal and lie. She’s lacking in passion, even her supposed stronger moments carrying a more passive tone. She relies on others to save her, both by relying on Yang and Weiss to defend her from mean anti faunus people, and constantly relying on others in fights, not able to land hits and begging Ruby to help her when she’s left without Yang to do her fighting for her. She doesn’t make choices herself, literally in the ‘will we launch Amity or defend Mantle’ conversation, Blake is one of the only people who isn’t shown out and out picking a side. She’s no longer cynical and no longer seems to mind waiting around - telling her younger, naïve teammate who’s spent hours doing nothing that it’s okay that she’s been doing nothing and hasn’t really helped anyone because Blake knows she’ll do something eventually and admires Ruby’s optimism. Blake no longer is independent enough to even be temporarily left by Yang without reacting like she did something she has to be guilty and ashamed of.

Like, what is this? Seriously, what is it? They didn’t even fight and they have her reacting like this.

It’s like the writers decided when they dropped her faunus arc that they could now create a new character from the ground up. A passive, supportive, co-dependent, damsel in distress character who can give the other girls a leg up and fuel their more compelling arcs. You know what? May isn’t Maid Marian, Blake is. She’s Disney’s Maid Marian. She’s the encouraging love interest/friend figure who can be jokey sometimes, occasionally tries her hand at convincing other people to do things, and to prove she’s not totally helpless, gets a hit in every now and again.

Look, maybe I’m being a little over dramatic, but that’s how she feels when you compare her to the other characters. Even Ruby, sitting around drinking tea and crying on staircases until the plot falls into her lap two different times, is a much more active character than Blake.

The closest CRWBY have gotten to making Blake an active character was when they had her react in anger to Neo knocking Yang into the void, but again, it didn’t amount to anything.

The writers could have made Blake the same character she was before while still deviating from her White Fang plot. She could have continued to be an independent, somewhat snarky, brave, passionate girl with more of a cynical worldview and a tendency to overwork herself in her hurry to get real work done that would help make the world a better place, while she tried to push past her more pessimistic tendencies and her struggles to connect with others in order to be there for them, because she believes in them and their purpose and herself. And you know what? I’m just gonna say it... That version of Blake, V 1-5 Blake, is the version that works best with Yang! Like don’t get me wrong, Yang and this new character have some cute moments and it’s... Lacking, but it’s at least something. But Yang and Blake as she was could actually be a compelling ship, they could fit well together. And Blake as she used to be could’ve interacted really well with the Atlas arc and the story in season six. She could’ve related to Ozpin when they find out about their past, she could’ve been on Qrow’s side when it came to stealing the plane in Argus and have to be convinced, she could’ve been trying to talk the Ace Ops into being reasonable, she could’ve been at Robyn’s rally, ready to help out in the fight against Jacques and passing out flyers, only to get angry and upset when she hears how Robyn talks to Marrow, she could’ve been on May’s side when May told them they needed to take action, she could’ve been right there with Yang telling Salem what’s what, or if they had to split the two (which I’m more than fine with,) they could’ve had Blake with the Mantle crew, but stay behind to help civilians, or they could’ve had had leave the manor with May. And if they were going to try and make Blake guilty for a fight, there should’ve been an established conflict where Blake and Yang disagree about Ironwood, and then that leads into a wider conflict about who was wrong and who was right. I don’t know, guys, I’m not a professional.

All I know is that Blake doesn’t feel like herself anymore and the writers won’t give her anything. It’s frustrating. This was kind of a vent post, but... You know what, I can vent about it. It feels like the writers are doing this on purpose at this point.

[conspirwbytheorist-inactive]

Some Cinder Thoughts

So I saw this post from @hoepunkausta a while back and was going to reply. Then I realized that this was the first time I’d actually sat down and taken a good look at Cinder and holy cow is there a lot to this character. Anyways, it got me thinking about Cinder's potential background and, while I've always seen her as a foil and tied to Ruby, I never realized how she could potentially tie in to ALL of team RWBY. Which is. . .pretty awesome from not only a narrative point of view but in regards to character redemption as well. Full take under the cut.

TLDR: If we assume Cinder’s backstory is in keeping with the popular version of the Cinderella tale, it ties-in to a lot of the our heroes’ traumas, giving each of them a reason to relate to her. Currently, Salem maintains control over Cinder by presenting herself as the fairy godmother, because were Cinder to see her as the stepmother she was, she would potentially leave. Were she to break away from Salem, recognizing her shared traumas with the members of Team RWBY could provide her with the connection needed to grow and heal as a person.

***Content Warning: Mentions of abuse/abuser tactics***

Intro

The post itself is pretty simple. Do we think Cinder came from an abusive background or do we think she came from a normal family that died under tragic circumstances before she met Salem? I’d always gotten the vibe that Cinder came to Salem searching for power after a life of rather horrific abuse similar to a more traditional Cinderella story.

The way she craves power, not just as a resource but as something she desperately needs for her own survival (her line about Pyrrha “taking her fate into her own hands” in V2 and the “I refuse to starve” of V7 come to mind), leads to believe that she came from a home that didn’t allow her much freedom or agency. She seems to know exactly what it feels like to not be in control of her own life and, now that she has found her escape from it (Salem), refuses to ever go back.

But how does this translate into ties to Team RWBY? She obviously has been foiled with Ruby, but the other 3? Kind of a big leap to make. Well, stick with me. Naturally, when thinking of a Cinder backstory, it makes sense to look at her main allusion, the Cinderella fairy tale.

A Cinder Story

Cinderella doesn’t start her story with an evil stepmother and step sisters. By most accounts she started out fairly privileged. With that in mind, imagine this woman, who we have come to know as a murdering power-driven villain, as a small child with seemingly everything she needed. A loving family, relative financial stability, decent social standing, etc. until one day, out of nowhere. Her mother dies. And suddenly she finds her world turned upside down. Her father remarries to a woman who loathes her and, who, after his death, does her best to control her, isolate her. Everyday she is told she is lesser than her sisters, meant to act as a servant. To cope with the difficult circumstances, she daydreams about a perfect place (in the main story, the ball/landed nobility but in Cinder’s case perhaps the opulence of Atlas) where if she can just prove herself good enough, endure enough pain, she can finally earn a happy ever after.

Now, what’s interesting here is that in just this bare bones outline of the Cinderella story, we touch on the key traumas of each of our four protagonists. Ruby and Summer’s death, Weiss’s isolation and molding under Jacques, Blake’s experience of racism as a faunus and abuse under Adam and Yang’s attempting to live up to Summer’s ideal to cope with abandonment. Which is really fricking cool because it means if ANY of this hypothetical backstory were to come to light, at least SOMEONE if not EVERYONE from the team has a potential point of empathy for where Cinder is coming from.

Something I love about RWBY is how it (for the most part) does its best to show how people are not inherently good or evil, but rather products of their circumstances and environment. So imagine the narrative and thematic potential of a villain for whom each of our cast could theoretically look at and think “Wow. That really could have been me” instead of “look at this monster”. A moment where they realize that, had things gone a bit differently, had they not been a position to cope with their traumas and actively choose to love instead of being engulfed by their pain and anger, they very much could have been this story’s villains rather than its heroes. A moment where, through Cinder, they concretely realize themselves as products of choice rather than destiny and, in that same vein, perhaps Cinder can see the same for herself.

Okay, but what about the Salem part? If we reduce “badness” all to a matter of choice ignores another key theme of RWBY: the importance of an awesome support network and team to back you up. At every point of the series our heroes have had someone to help them. Ruby had Yang and Qrow growing up before her team and JNR after Beacon, Weiss had Winter and Klein, Blake Ilia and Sun, and Yang had Ruby growing up and Tai after Beacon. But who did Cinder have to help her through her darkest times? No one. Except Salem.

The Case of the Fairy Stepmother

That brings me to the second part of the question: Is Salem the stepmother or Fairy Godmother? Honestly I think it’s both. The real question (and what I think will be the biggest obstacle for Cinder growing as a character) is how does Cinder see it?

In the Cinderella story, the Fairy Godmother and Evil Stepmother play opposing roles. Stepmother does all that she can to keep Cinderella underfoot and away from realizing her full potential as a person while the Fairy Godmother steps in when Cindy is at her lowest and uses her magic to give her all that she needs to get that “Happily Ever After”. In theory it should be impossible for one person to be both at the same time, but turns out it’s a matter of perspective.

Imagine Cinder at her lowest point. Maybe she was a no-name seamstress in Argus who daydreamed about being swept up into the glamour of the Atlas elite. Maybe she was a scared kid who saw becoming a huntress as her ticket out of poverty and into a life of adventure. Imagine her getting that wish of her own accord. Playing the game, doing everything right, biding her time until finally, she escapes - only to find herself trapped in a new way. (a Prince Charming who controls her as a plaything, a student not willing to be a child soldier, there are so many possibilities here). Only to see that the system was stacked against her in way where she could never escape it under her own power. That’s. . . a lot to process and a feeling of hopelessness that I think a lot of us can relate to (especially in our current world-state).

Then Salem comes in and not only promises Cinder the power to create her own destiny, but delivers it. Cinder goes from having almost nothing to magically receiving the means to accomplish anything she desired. All because of Salem. I see a lot of people question why Cinder is so loyal to Salem, but given this view, it’d be very difficult for her not to feel indebted to her savior in some regard.

Furthermore, Salem seems relatively fond of Cinder. She defends her from ridicule in Volume 4, goes out of her way to praise her strengths and, honestly, seems to have more patience with her than the rest of WTCH.  Given her backstory, I wouldn’t even be remotely surprised if what drew Salem to Cinder was the chance to give this angry young woman the power she wished that she had had prior to her curse. It’s almost. . . motherly. In a way I would expect a millennia old woman driven mad by isolation and Grimm Lakes and a very traumatized Cinder to view motherhood.

But, that doesn’t mean that the two have a healthy relationship. We as the audience see how Salem’s “love” comes at a price. She never hesitates to keep Cinder underfoot: oscillating between praise and threats of punishment, criticizing Cinder’s discomfort in Volume 4 as weakness, and making it clear that Cinder is only important to her insofar as her usefulness. The whole “Without you I am nothing” really illustrates how far out of her way Salem goes to make Cinder painfully aware that all that she has, all that she has accomplished is because of Salem’s magic. Salem hasn’t helped Cinder as a benefactor. A benefactor would let Cinder proceed to live her own life. Salem has instead taken advantage of Cinder’s lack of any support network and feelings of isolation to establish herself as Cinder’s sole source of support.

While we as an audience can see how abusive this dynamic is, Cinder can’t. Right now, she’s more or less fully embedded in Salem’s manipulation tactics - Salem’s narrative is her truth. And, even if she does come to see it (don’t think I missed the hints of resentment in the trailer), there’s nowhere for her to go. What can she do? Go rogue? The woman has an entire Grimm army! Turn to Emerald, Mercury, or Neo? They’re all either children or also in on all this! Just like the Stepmother, so long as Salem keeps Cinder feeling isolated, the chances of her escaping or changing remain slim.

Seeds of Support and Redemption

So, that leaves us with two things Cinder needs in order to break away from Salem:

Recognizing Salem as a controlling/toxic “Stepmother” figure instead of a  “Fairy Grimm-Mother” and that this is NOT what she wants out of life.

Finding connections/a support network she can go to after leaving

This is why Cinder having parallels to all of Team RWBY is so frickin cool. I’m still not 100% certain of a full Cinder redemption. Like, I love her as a character. But part of the reason I love her is that she is a hot mess who will go full ride or die no matter the situation. So getting her to even pause and go “is this what I want out of my life?” is probably going to take something pretty drastic to rattle her current convictions.

However, that being said, I find it really suspicious that the team would take a character that could be used to parallel the traumas of all four main heroes and just hang her out to dry. In a different show, I might think they could set her up with a death as a warning for our protagonists. But, that doesn’t make sense. Every possible warning I can think of motivating Cinder’s death is already being conveyed by another character. The dangers of falling to spite? Adam. Isolation causes only weakness and pain? Raven. Sacrificing humanity for the sake of power is a crap idea? Ironwood.

Instead, these seems like a great way to set up a situation where Cinder can find connection. After all, if our team could potentially look at Cinder and go “This could have been me”, what’s to stop Cinder from looking at them, seeing their pain and how they support each other, and going “Huh. Maybe this could be me?”. Especially if something radical has just happened to get her to want to break away from Salem for whatever reason. Maybe I’m just crazy, maybe I’ve been sitting on this too long, but I think that that would be really cool for a show about the power of love and connection to have its longest-term “villain” illustrate how, given support and humanity, victims of abuse can grow and find genuine connection with people.

[osleyakomwonkru]

A New Together: Why Both Clarke and Octavia Should Take The Final Test

As much as I would love it if Octavia took the Final Test on her own, because she’s so ready and primed for it (see below), I know realistically that’s unlikely (also see below) - so the next best option is for Clarke and Octavia to take the Final Test together.

Not one person, but both of them.

So let’s review -

Reasons why Clarke should take the Final Test:

1. Protagonist Privilege

Let’s be real, that’s 90% of the reason. Clarke is a mess right now. Understandably so - I’m not knocking her. She’s been through hell the past week. She’s about as stable as a house of cards in a windstorm. She’s not currently suited to take a first grade math test, let alone a Final Test for whether humanity deserves to survive. But she is The Protagonist, so needs must. She has to be there.

2. She has Nothing to Lose

Clarke has lost everything (except her so-called friends, who she hasn’t spent a lot of time with, who she doesn’t really know, so really I don’t think they’re a factor). She has nothing to lose by going into that white light. Especially if there’s any chance that the Final Test could save Madi from being trapped the way she is - Clarke will do it.

Reasons (and Evidence) why Octavia should take the Final Test:

1. Peace and Mental Calm

Perhaps words one would never expect to associate with Octavia Blake, but that’s what her story has been this season. Finding peace, both externally and internally. Finding mental stability and calm for the first time in her life. She’s got the wisdom and maturity and experience to take on a challenge like this.

2. She has Everything to Lose

Counterpoint to Clarke right now - Octavia has a child, she has a declared family, even a living love interest. But Octavia’s always been non-possessive in her love - she has Her People, yes, but she’s also the one to have a love and a hope for all of humanity (emphasis on the humanity, rather than just the ambulatory meatsacks that the Disciples favour for “all mankind” and skipping the humanity aspect), and that love is what I believe is a key aspect of the ability to pass the Test.

3. The Call of the Anomaly

Remember that plot point back in season 6, where Octavia, Diyoza and Gabriel were being “called” by the Anomaly? What if that isn’t just a dropped theory? What if it was true - because they were candidates for taking the Final Test?

Ever since we’ve heard of this being a Test instead of a War, I’ve immediately thought those three would be the best candidates to take it - all three have been through the full spectrum of human highs and lows, done all sorts of terrible things, but made it through the other side and found a new peace and purpose. Also - all three of them spent time on Skyring. What if Skyring is the “waiting room”, a purgatory of sorts, where souls are further purified in peace and stillness to be able to take this Test?

With Diyoza and Gabriel dead, Octavia’s the only one left of that group to take it.

4. Her Poster Symbol

Octavia’s symbol in the season 7 promo posters (♁) has a variety of names and meanings - it is a symbol for the Earth in astronomy, as well as the globus cruciger, which in Christian tradition “represents Christ’s dominion over the orb of the world, literally held in the hand of an earthly ruler” (Wikipedia). Yet a third interpretation is the alchemical symbol for antimony, where it represents the wild aspects of human nature.

Those are a wide variety of potential meanings - or it could be all of them at once, because they all reflect Octavia in some fashion. Earth because that’s where she found freedom. I’ve written before about how Octavia is this show’s Jesus figure and here she could bring salvation to them yet again. But she’s also been a wild free spirit.

Most characters share their poster symbols with someone else, but crucially, Octavia does not. This could be significant.

5. Marie’s Interviews

Marie has a particular way of giving interviews when it comes to hints and spoilers. She very specifically has a list of things she’s not allowed to talk about, but outside of that list, she doesn’t really hold back. She’s also very literal. She also repeats things almost verbatim for every interview (presumably to avoid getting close to that list of things) unless someone asks a vastly different question.

One phrase she’s repeated across many interviews is the three words she uses to describe Octavia this season - “nurturing, self-actualized, elevated”. We’ve seen the first two, and what with knowing that Marie is very literal, the third can easily point to “transcendence” as a logical option.

Additionally, in her Collider interview, when asked about Octavia’s journey in season 7 and the conclusion of her arc, Marie says “It’s a storyline, for her character specifically, that people have not seen coming yet”. What would be better than jumping into a situation not with her sword, but with her love and wisdom to save humanity this time?

I’ve believed Octavia was going to transcend humanity this season before transcendence was even mentioned on the show. Even before this season started. It only makes sense.

But since Clarke has to be there too, not to mention what JRoth Tweeted about Bellamy’s death, and how “his life and his endless love for his people will loom large and affect everything that comes after, to the very end of the series finale itself” - Octavia won’t be doing it alone.

JRoth also apparently promised “an emotional conclusion” for the Blakes. Well, they didn’t get that in person, but Octavia and Clarke working together here could be a way for that to happen anyway. Clarke and Bellamy often did things “together”. But he’s gone. Octavia isn’t. And she’s right there with Clarke. The Heart of their trinity might be dead, but the Head and the Soul stand together.

Now is the time that Clarke and Octavia do something together. For Bellamy. For all of their people.

Ogeda. Not for “all mankind”, but for what makes us human: Love.

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness Chapter 51

The Schnee-Shinra analogue is already there so let's let the good times roll. You'll find that Monty did most of the work for this crossover for me, at least in the now, phase.

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

My friends were in Atlas after less than a day. It had hurt to be thousands of miles away from them. I waited out on the landing pad for them with Penny. She'd been overjoyed with the news that Ruby was on the way.

The plane set down and my friends came waltzing out.

"Penny?!" Ruby called. She dashed forward and the two met in an enormous hug. I felt a touch snubbed but only a touch. Penny had been killed after all. Ruby was right to worry after her.

"It's so good to see you again, Penny. I thought you were dead!"

"I was!" Penny chirped. "My father rebuilt me."

"Just like that?"

"It wasn't that easy. They are limits to it. But suffice to say I'm back and more combat ready than ever!"

Penny hovered in place on jets from her legs, spinning once, before she landed again.

"That's incredible, Penny."

"My father worked very hard on my new body. He didn't want me hurt again. But enough about me. How have you been Ruby?"

Ruby's face fell.

"Ruby… is something wrong?"

"Yes. A lot." Ruby croaked out. I took that as my cue. I walked forward and put a hand around Ruby.

"You heard about Jaune didn't you, Penny?" I inquired.

"The turncoat?" Penny asked.

Ruby let out a noise of protest.

"Penny, Ruby and Jaune were together."

Penny raised both hands to her mouth. "Oh no. That means..."

"She's still recovering," I said. "It was a short time ago."

"Don't worry, Ruby, I'll help you anyway I can."

"Thank you Penny. And Weiss, how were things up here?" Ruby asked, desperate to move on in the conversation.

"They were fine. The whole operation went smoothly. How were things in Argus?"

"We were attacked by these three girls. They were after the relic."

"The relic…? But…" I trailed off.

"We don't know either. Ozpin says it's enemy disorientation."

"You're all alright though, aren't you?"

"Yes, the fight was short and they were focused on their objective. So we all made it out okay."

"But if the enemy doesn't know that they already have the relic what does that mean?" Penny asked.

"It means that they don't really have it," I realized. "They don't know where it is."

"That's what Ozpin thinks too," Ruby agreed. "He's just not sure what to do about it."

"Maybe General Ironwood will have an idea," Penny said. "Here he comes now."

"James," Ozpin greeted. "It's good to see you again."

"And you as well old friend. I have to confess that I feared the worst when Beacon fell," the General responded. He looked visibly relieved and at ease. More so than I'd seen him when I'd delivered the news of Ozpin's return.

"I think we all did," Qrow said.

"Qrow…" the General walked up and looked like he wanted to embrace the raggedy man. Qrow pulled a flask and eyed the General back. The General did a double take and stepped back and looked Qrow up and down. "What happened to you? You were injured. Your legs..."

"I picked a bad fight and got saved by some kids." Qrow rolled a shoulder and looked away. "It happens."

"Well it's good to see you in one piece." Ironwood acknowledged with a nod of his head. "All of you."

"This is a warm reception and so on but I'm afraid there is much for us to discuss. The relics and the maidens, I take it Ms. Schnee filled you in on our end but what about yours. Is the staff safe? And what of the winter maiden? When you sealed the country's borders I feared the worst for you. I thought you may be slipping as Leo did."

"Yes, come with me. Conversations like this are best handled behind closed doors." Ironwood agreed. He led the way off the airstrip.

We followed him into Atlas Academy and to the headmaster's office. The academy was all cool blues and greys laced with silvers. As much of Atlas was.

It was as though the entire city had formed a coalition and which colors they wanted to convey to the world and this was it. The cityscape was laced with those same colors in primary. If my friends thought it was just I and Atlas Academy which embraced them, they would be sorely mistaken.

"Ah here we are." Ozpin said as we entered the headmaster's office. It had a scenic view over Atlas and notably not over Mantle. "Let's start with the winter maiden."

"She's safe. She's in a bunker not far from here. The current plan is to transfer her power to Winter Schnee. The only person Fria is allowed to see each day is Winter," Ironwood responded. "I considered using the same process we were going to use with the fall maiden but this seemed more elegant."

"Very good James. Well done. That means that the relic of creation is safe?"

"It is. And I have more plans. Some for getting communication back up and running between the kingdoms. I plan to use Amity as a satellite. I've already begun to modify the colosseum for this purpose. Using dust supplies to keep it airborne, I believe we will be able to restore communication between the kingdoms."

"Incredible James. This is what you've been working on? You've been very busy."

"Yes. It has been difficult. Listen to me complain like I was the one who was killed. I'm sure you have all had a rough time of it. Ms. Schnee implied as much."

"No more than you," Ozpin disagreed. "This plan of yours is incredible. I couldn't ask for more, except of course…"

"Except what?"

"Opening the country, James."

Ironwood sighed. "I needed to keep her agents out of the state."

"This won't stop her agents. They'll find a way in. The only thing the embargo does is escalate tensions."

"After Amity goes up I'll lift the embargo and open the borders."

Ozpin tapped his staff. "Good enough. I won't press you. When will the satellite launch."

"Four months is the target deadline."

"James you've done so much. I was wrong to put you in the same category as Leonardo."

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

We were put to work by General Ironwood. I had been right when I said there was no shortage of jobs coming our way.

We worked closely with another group. Ace operatives they were called.

Weeks went by and I watched Ruby get better. The missions were good for her. She grew strong again. And I found myself in love with it. My heart ached for her so much my chest hurt. I knew it would be too soon for her but I knew at some point I needed to tell her how I felt, lest I start avoiding her. She would be able to tell something was off with me.

She had a sixth sense about such things.

Her short hair was cropped to one side in a wolfish fashion. Her hood was done lower on her corset. She was beautiful. Tragedy had turned her into a woman just as I saw it had once turned Jaune into a man. Or whatever it was he became. My feelings about him were obtuse and deeply confusing. I imagined it was worse for Ruby so I kept my mouth shut about it.

I still could see the laughter in his eyes that early morning in Mistral. How could I forget it? Sure he had a harder edge to him but underneath it he still seemed soft.

I knew what Blake thought. I even knew what Yang believed. But even so… even so…

"What's our mission today?" I asked in the briefing room. My older sister was there staring at a data pad.

"You've all been doing great work…" Winter began.

"Here it comes," Yang said.

"So the General believes it's time you had a break. Take the day off. Do whatever it is people your age do to relax. It's as important as fighting the Grimm."

"There it is," Yang finished. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. She had a thicker jacket on than she used to wear and longer pants, too.

"What about you? Will you be getting any R and R?" I asked.

"Not today. A prisoner break just occurred and it requires my attention. A new face in Atlas our soldiers identified as a 'Cloud Strife.'"

"Never heard of him," Ruby murmured.

"Well he's working with another person of interest. Neapolitan."

"Her we do know," Yang's eyes narrowed. "I fought her once."

"You did? You are certain?" Winter was surprised.

"The umbrella girl? Sure did. Back when she worked for Roman Torchwick," Yang said. "She nearly killed me. Could go for some revenge." She punched her fists together for a resounding clank .

"Well she's working for someone new now. She has a new boss. This Cloud Strife character. I don't want you to worry about it. It's becoming my responsibility, however." Winter tapped away at the pad.

Working with my older sister has been a good experience so far. She always shared the big mission details with me where she could and no one was hiding things from us which was a nice change of pace. We were persons of interest too. Just for the good team. It was nice. It was where we belonged. Doing the most good possible.

"If you say so," Blake mumbled. She'd cut her hair as well. She also changed her outfit to better match the cold of Solitas.

"I do. Go out and relax. Hit up a club and dance or visit one of our movie theaters." The words seemed awkward coming from my sister's orderly lips. But orders were orders. If they wouldn't assign us a mission then we had little choice.

"I might just stay in tonight," I said. I might bathe or find a good book and light some candles. Maybe both.

"I'll join you," Ruby murmured. "If you want my company, that is."

I nodded in her direction. I'd been dodging her a little but I did always want her companionship. Besides… this might be my opportunity to talk to her. I had to tell her how I felt at some point. My heart raced a little. Out of a combination of excitement and fear.

"I might go out and dance. I heard of a club some of the men sometimes hit up when they have the day off," Yang said. Yang was used to that kind of life. I remembered she used to go clubbing back in our Beacon days and before.

"I'll go with. If that's all right. I'm not much of a dancer, though." Yang nodded at Blake.

"I can show you some moves. Pretty girls like us just need to avoid moving our arms around like idiots and we look fine," Yang told Blake. "I'm sure you'll look good."

Blake looked away, a tad embarrassed. She rubbed her neck with one hand as she sat in one of the briefing room chairs. "If you say so."

"I do, just relax and enjoy the ride. You're on the Yang train now."

"Can I get off or…?" Blake trailed off. There was a laugh in her voice, however.  

"Would you want to?" Yang challenged, a little red on her neck and in her cheeks.

"Perhaps not," Blake blushed. Yang offered her a hand and pulled her out of her seat.

I watched them with a contented feeling in my heart. I'd seen them dance around each other with a small amount of trepidation. They were my team. It was my place to worry about their feelings. Looking at them now I realized I had little to be concerned about. They were approaching the other with care and a little respectful fear.

They would be alright. They were taking their time in exploring each other. That was better than fine.

I just wanted the same to be able to be said for me.

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

I washed at my neck with a wet, warm cloth and sighed. True to myself I'd lit some candles and was sitting next to the bath with my scroll, just dipping my feet in the warm water while I washed my bare back with the rag.

I was wearing my loose nightgown and had my hair still back in its braided ponytail.

I moaned as I dipped the cloth in the water and rubbed at my shoulders. It was good. I held my scroll in one hand and read on it. I knew Blake would say something about an analogue page having superiority but I was a digital girl. That is how I liked to read and it's the hill I would die on.

I moved the cloth against my stomach and shuddered a little as I read from my scroll. It was waterproof so there was really no risk. I even showered with the device everyday to sanitize it. Scrubbing it down with soap like any other part of my body.

Lavender candles were blooming around me. Just two or three. Enough to set the atmosphere while I worked the cloth against my pale skin and let out little noises.

I dipped the cloth in the water and ran it up my long smooth legs. I let out another tired groan.

"Ah…"

There came a knock at the door.

"Weiss it's me…" Ruby's voice came in soft and mellow.

I was decent so… "Oh? Come in Ruby."

She did, closing the door gently behind her. She was in her night clothes too, and she looked like a treat in them.

I turned away and went back to washing myself down with the textile. I felt Ruby watching me for a long moment as I eased it against the skin of my shoulder and back where I could reach.

She sat down behind me and stuck her fingers against my scalp. "R-Ruby." I partly protested.

"Yes, Weiss?" She asked. She slowly started to undo my braid with deft fingers.

I leaned back into her touch as she worked gently against my skin. She was sitting with her body in contact with my own. I could feel her aura. A soft red which matched the tips of candles and the far reaches of her bangs.

I set my scroll down by my side, the device slightly forgotten as Ruby worked undoing my braid.

"I used to braid Yang's hair when we were younger. I've got some practice with long hair. Your hair is so pretty, Weiss," She said, her voice came in low, soft, and sensual.

She worked quietly. Unfastening the bobby pins that held my braid tight one by one. I shuddered as she worked. My head slowly became less and less taut. As she toiled she'd place the bobby pins on the counter by the bath with soft metallic clinks .  

I could smell her aura. Roses and a touch of something sweet like cinnamon. I breathed it in deep with the scent of the lavender candles. It made me feel light headed, even more so than my hair becoming less rigid and unbound did. Or maybe it was the combination of the two.

Soon my pale hair was all hanging free and the pins I used to fasten it we're all in a small pile by the bath. Her task complete she took the rag out of my hands and dipped it in the water.

She rubbed it against my back softly, in all the corners I couldn't reach. Under my shoulder blades. Near the clasp of my bra. I felt her work her way under the string of it and let out a noise I was partly ashamed of.  

"Oh…"

I felt my face flush with heat. I knew a rosy pink would be coloring my cheeks and the beginning and end of my neck.

She rubbed at the back of my neck with it and I pressed back against her.

"I missed you Weiss. You've been so far away from me lately."

"I missed you too Ruby," I choked out.

I couldn't help it. I turned around and took her face in both my hands and kissed her with temperature.

I think she was surprised for a moment but then she gave in and leaned in with a tired drawn out moan.

"Mmmhmmm...mmhmm...Weiss..." She whimpered.

She whispered my name against my own lips and it lit something in my chest. I brushed one hand against her hair and grabbed the back of her head right with it.

Do it again.

I thought by degrees.

Moan my name again.

For a moment her tongue brushed against my lips. I let my own out a little and where they touched they burned like fire.

"Ruby…" I purred.

I felt her aura flare up and my own did too. I wondered briefly what my own resonance felt like. Her's felt good. Really really good. It touched mine all over and I leaned in a little more. Her aura dazzled against my own flesh and essence. Blazing against my skin and the very heart of me, it was like nothing I'd ever felt before.

A rose petal fell from her aura and landed on one of the wax candles. It burnt up.

My hand touched the inside of her thigh.

"Weiss wait." She broke it off, the burst of the petal burning seemed to be the trigger for it for her. That or my touch. "I'm not ready. I'm not there yet."

I knew she wasn't. I'd made my move anyway. I looked away with some shame.

"I will be. I promise I will be," she tried, hurriedly. Like it was her fault.

"I know you will Ruby. I just wanted you to know." I whispered. "Whenever you are ready I'll be there. And even when you're not I'll still be there for you."

"About Jaune…" I said nothing, just waiting for her to finish. "I-I never thought I'd have to experience life without him. But I feel that way about you too. I don't want to imagine my life without you. I'm just so worried about him."

She was crying a little.

"I understand," I told her.

"You do?" She sounded shocked. Like she was sure I wouldn't have been able to get it.

"I do," I promised. "I think I know how you feel. You were-are attracted to the both of us," I corrected mid-sentence.

"Yes." She whispered. She wiped her eyes and I helped her. "I'm just so confused. Especially with what happened to him."

"I was a little confused as well," I confessed.

"You were?" She sounded incredulous. "But you never liked Jaune."

"I told you I started to see what Pyrrha and you were on about towards the end. He was so hard, yet soft in the center."

She laughed. An honest sound.

"You saw it too, then. What made him so great."

"I also see what makes you so great." I wiped her tears away and kissed her cheeks without passion. "I was… confused a lot. Especially when you told me you were both having sex. I still am confused."

"We'll figure it out." Ruby whispered. "Together, you and me. I just need more time."

"Whatever you need, Ruby."

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

-WG

[introvertguide]

M*A*S*H (1970); AFI #54

The next film on the AFI List is what is often called a dark comedy, M*A*S*H (1970). This was a highly rated movie by critics although it was overshadowed by Patton that came out the same year. The film earned nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Editing while winning for Best Screenplay. This is the first major feature length film for director Robert Altman after years spent directing for television. This experience is very apparent because the film experience is like binge watching webisodes online. Many short stories that come together around a group of characters in a specific setting. I want to go over the story before any further critique and I will break it down like episodes of a TV show. Oh yeah...

SPOILER ALERT!!! THERE IS A LOT TO THIS FILM SO REVIELING THE PLOT WON’T REALLY SPOIL THE EXPERIENCE, BUT I WANT TO BE SURE TO WARN ANYBODY BEFORE I START SPOILING DETAILS!!!

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

The film starts with the well known helicopters flying in with wounded soldiers with the theme of “Suicide is Painless.” These same shots were either used or simulated for the beginning of the television show. The tone is set to be a rather somber war film that deals with injuries and death in battle...until one of the groups moving the stretchers falls over and the tone becomes uncertain. 

We then meet two new surgeons that are assigned to the 4077 unit. They are Captain Hawkeye Pierce (Donald Sutherland) and Captain Duke Forrest (Tom Skerritt). They are insubordinate smart aleks who take a jeep without a driver and go off to the medical outpost where they are assigned. They immediately run into Major Burns (Robert Duvall) with whom they share an officer’s tent. Duke and Hawkeye have a rule breaking style that does not mesh with the extremely strict and religious Major. The two immediately ask for the Major to be moved. They get a new tent mate in Captain Trapper McIntyre and we have our three doctors. Also in the camp are Colonel Blake (Roger Bowen), Major “Hot Lips” Houlihan (Sally Kellerman), the dentist “Painless” (John Schuck), and Lieutenant “Dish” (Joann Pflug).

The first situation is dealing with Burns. He is indoctrinating a local teen by having him read the bible. Not really too bad. The man is annoying and I couldn’t remember why he got such a bad rap. However, he blames an assistant (who is not a nurse and played by Bud Cort) for the death of a soldier when the man was going to die anyway, and Trapper takes exception and punches Burns in the face. Burns then starts to court the new Major and the three docs broadcast them being intimate over the loudspeaker. She tells Burns to kiss her hot lips and gains her nickname. Hawkeye rags on Burns about the incident until the Major attacks the Captain and Burns is taken away for psychiatric discharge. The three doctors respect Houlihan’s nursing skills, but they still really hate her neurotic adherence to the rules.

The next situation involves the dentist, Painless, who was unable to perform sexually with a visiting nurse so he believes he is gay and wants to kill himself. The doctors form a scheme to give the dentist a pill that will knock him out and also give him an erection (like a Cialis sleeping pill). Painless believes the pill will kill him and everyone says their goodbyes. All the surgeons have dinner together in a scene reminiscent of the last supper and then Painless is given his pill and lays down in a coffin while a reprise of “Suicide is Painless” plays in the background. Once Painless is out, a good looking nurse who is about to leave for home, Lieutenant Dish, is convinced to have sex with the dentist to convince him he is not gay. It works and the Lieutenant leaves in the morning and the dentist changes his mind about dying.

There is a brief interlude where the docs wonder if Hot Lips is a natural blond. To find out, they set up a scheme in which they drop open the side of a shower tent while the Major is there so they can see her pubic hair and compare. It is a rather mean prank that the whole camp is in on, and Houlihan goes to Colonel Blake and complains that he lets the surgeons get away with everything. He tells her to get out because he is sleeping with a nurse and drinking alcohol that was brought in by the three doctors.

The third situation involves Trapper and Hawkeye going off to Japan to perform emergency surgery on the son of somebody with influence. While there, they also use the facility to help a baby of one of the local prostitutes. They are caught with the possibility of legal repercussions, but blackmail the local officer with pictures of him with the prostitute. They get their way and are able to go back to the 4077. When they get back, it turns out that Duke has been sleeping with Hot Lips because he likes blondes.

The final situation is a little out of the blue but perhaps the most well known aspect of the film. The 4077 is challenged to a football game by local evacuation unit 325. The two camps both get ringers to play as there is a $5000 wager on the game. The 4077 holds back their ringer for the first half and sabotage the best players of the 325th so they can increase the wager and the odds at halftime. It works and the 4077 bring in their ringer and are able to win on the last play.

The end is very much like the beginning in that Hawkeye and Duke are given their papers to go home and they steal the same Jeep to leave together. There are no closing credits but the actors are all mentioned on an overhead announcement that breaks the 4th wall of the film. Very creative and a pretty satisfying ending.

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

Like I said at the beginning, this doesn’t really feel like a film but more of a series of episodes. It is no wonder that it translated so well to television and became one of the most popular shows of all time. There was only one actor that went from the movie to the TV show and that was Colonel Blake’s secretary known as Radar, who was played by Gary Burghoff. This is one of the few films on the AFI list that you can watch in parts or step away from and not really miss anything. It was a lot different from anything that had been done before, but it does seem a little incohesive.

My mom is not a fan of this film specifically because of the way that these three doctors treat everyone else. Major Burns does not really deserve his fate and the nurses are constantly used for their sex appeal. The three are incredibly mesogenistic, Duke is kind of racist when there is a discussion of a black man staying in their tent, and Painless would rather die than possibly live his life as a gay man. All of these characters are in a horrible situation, but the audience is supposed to automatically favor the flippant care-free doctors. Burns and Houlihan are not really played out as terrible people but we are supposed to laugh as these surgeons torture them. The joke really doesn’t hold up.

I really think that this movie is a great time capsule for the time period. Men were being drafted to go off to war and it was believed that they were being stripped of their humanity and turned into killers. Vietnam was a war that many Americans didn’t want to be a part of so the idea that the war experience could be good with the right attitude appealed to many. The graphic nature of the surgery scenes made the situation feel real so the movie going audience cheered for those men who could do their job while keeping their sanity and their frat boy sense of humor intact. Again, that is not the humor of the nation currently so the gags don’t really hold up. It does give the viewer a glance into the mindset of the audience at the time.

After Nashville, I don’t have that much to say about the cinematography. Altman definitely has wide shots in which a lot is happening, but it is set at a small army camp in which it is hard to tell the actors in uniform apart. A lot of the action is lost. Also, there are far fewer characters in this film than in Nashville. Altman’s TV roots are much more evident in this film. That being said, the constant change really helps to move the movie along and I would say it is up with Raiders of the Lost Ark as far as quick pace.

So does this film deserve to be on the AFI list? I’m actually going to say no. The TV show that was inspired by this film made for some of the best episodic story telling on the small screen, but you can’t really give that to this film. The comedy really doesn’t hold up and the lack of any cohesive story lasting more than 15 minutes is very detrimental. Would I recommend it? Yes I would. It is fun and a pretty easy watch. I am really just not that sure how it got on the AFI list. It wasn’t highly awarded and many people don’t know there even was a movie before the TV show. It is an interesting bit of history, but it is no big deal if you skip this one. Watch the TV show instead.

[ruminantminds]

me, my dream, my desire, how it's killing me, like i laugh at it.

SIOBHAN BLAKE ( SHE / THEY ) is a NON-BINARY FORTY * year old TOWN MAYOR who has been living in Moorbrooke for THEIR ENTIRE LIFE. Right now, they are currently residing in ELMSETT GREEN. It has been said that they look suspiciously like ROSAMUND PIKE and if they had to choose a song to describe themselves, they would choose VOILA by BARBARA PRAVI.

                 * they were originally forty-one on the app but after working out the birth chart i have decided their forty-first birthday is the fourth of june ! just in case you want to plan birthday things for her <3

mun introduction ;

hi everyone ! i’m shannon, i’m a non-binary autistic lesbian, i’m twenty-one && i never fucking learned how to sleep ! 

BASICS —

NAME: siobhan adrienne louisa blake.

AGE: forty.

GENDER: non-binary.

BIRTH DATE: fourth of june, nineteen-eighty.

BIRTH PLACE: moorbrooke, maine, usa.

SEXUALITY: lesbian.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: married to alante patterson.

ZODIAC: gemini sun, aquarius moon, libra rising.

MBTI: enfp-a.

ENNEAGRAM: four, with a three wing.

HOGWARTS HOUSE: hufflepuff. 

THEME SONG: voila by barbara pravi.

FAVOURITE SONG: no plan by hozier.

OCCUPATION: mayor of moorbrooke ( 2020 - present. )

PAST CAREERS: english teacher at moorbrooke high school ( 2004 - 2020. )

EDUCATION: bachelor’s degree in literature at yale university, the only period of time they’ve spent not living in moorbrooke. 

DREAM JOB: senator for maine.

PARENTS: ciara & severin blake ( deceased. )

SIBLINGS: none.

SPOUSE: alante patterson ( m. 2015 ; together since )

PETS: two cats, vita && virginia.

PREDOMINANT TRAITS: wholesome, compassionate, ambitious, unconventional, humanitarian, self-critical, discerning, sociable, curious.

BACKSTORY —

apart from a few years at yale, siobhan has never lived away from moorbrooke. it’s where she was born, it’s where they were raised, it’s the place where she feels most at home. it’s filled with the people who watched them evolve into the who they now confidently are. but growing up with parents with massive expectations was never easy. 

because while they moved from new york, severin blake’s old money attitude never left him behind. 

( tw: fertility struggles ) and with old money, conservativism often follows. this is no exception. siobhan spent most of their childhood trying to be the golden child their parents wanted, even when it felt wrong. hopeful that some other sibling would come to take some of the weight off their shoulders, it never came to fruition, and she was their only child. severin blake — french-american businessman’s — only legacy.

siobhan was always more compassionate than their parents. when new people came to the town, she would always try to offer them a leg-up, no matter who they were, why they had come, or how long they were planning to stay. they had no issue playing chameleon to make others comfortable: wasn’t that what she’d always done, regardless? 

this rang true when alante patterson came to town. a few years younger than her, split from her siblings in the foster system, it just made sense for siobhan to try to be the other girl’s constant. the beginning of a close relationship that still runs stronger than ever, thirty years later. 

alante was always refreshingly honest, and always made siobhan feel safe to be . . . themselves, even if they were pretending to everyone else.

siobhan’s chameleonic tendencies made them highly popular as a teenager, her parents’ pride and joy, but the latter half began to fail when siobhan began to understand — began being operative, as it was a process that took them many years — their curiosity about their sexuality and gender. this relationship, and her parents’ desire for them to hide this evolving part of themselves, was a behind-closed-doors battle which led to anxiety & depression. 

a vicious cycle, because the attitude to mental health on severin’s part was also quite . . . medieval, and ciara certainly never intervened to stop him. 

( the blakes had always been protestant, though siobhan was reluctant to take part in any acknowledgement of such. siobhan has considered themselves agnostic since the age of thirteen, though she supports her wife in her faith as much as she can. )

siobhan came out when she went to yale at the age of eighteen, and her experience had been mixed. college took her away from her friends, estranging them from their high school friends and temporarily moving away from alante. when they returned from college studies and took up a job as an english teacher at the local highschool, her best friend was . . . married. 

which made feelings that began to blossom particularly problematic. especially when over the years that followed, no matter how hard they tried to let it go, those feelings persisted. and — eventually — became an affair so passionate that alante left her husband for siobhan some thirteen years ago. 

their relationship with alante is what made them truly decide to — and make them able to — exist fully as themselves. who they wanted to be. so now, they’re not quite as chameleonic, but she’s endearing to the people who are truly interested in her and that’s all that matters, isn’t it? ( isn’t it? they’re still learning, though they pretend the self-doubt is entirely gone. )

this part of their town-iconic relationship is not public knowledge, and thankfully never came to siobhan’s parents’ knowledge before their deaths five and seven years ago.

siobhan and alante married as soon as possible in 2015, but siobhan always had a dream of washington politics, buried for many years because the political climate of their youth would never take them. now... it’s possible, but alante likes this life, this town, their two cats, and wants to have children. 

as a compromise, siobhan ran for mayor of moorbrooke this recent cycle, and won. but here’s the kicker: will it be enough for them?

CONNECTIONS —

family: while she has no siblings, she does have cousins on ciara’s side, so if you’re interested in that then feel free to let me know & we’ll explore it! i love a good family tree, especially in town rps where i imagine it a bit more interconnected like broadchurch !

family-esque: if your muse has been living in moorbrooke a while, it’s likely siobhan knows them quite or very well. you know those people you call your aunt/uncle out of respect because they’ve been friends with your family as long as you can remember? a bit like that! it’s also a habit because siobhan has been . . . distant from her own family since she was a teenager. they never outright disowned them for what they were calling their ‘ ideas ’ — i.e. being non-gender conforming & lesbian — but their disapproval was... clear enough. she doesn’t want anyone else to feel like they’re without support. 

therapist friend: the thing about siobhan is that they are the ceo of telling other people to look after their mental health while letting their own degrade. ( see: she can’t help taking on other people’s problems & wanting to solve them. )

high school it squad: yes, this is my not-so-subtle way of pleading for more older muses here. these people were siobhan’s friends when they were trying to be who everyone wanted them to be, not who she herself wanted to be ; they were the popular clique, and she adjusted herself as necessary to ‘ ringlead ’ them. i’m thinking they split up when they all went to college, and the rest of them have only just come back to town. the siobhan blake they’re going to meet is . . . very different than the one they once knew. someone who is now comfortable ( at last ) unapologetically in their own skin.

ex-student: if your muse was in high school in moorbrooke anywhere during their tenure it’s likely that siobhan could have taught them! she was the emotional support english teacher. sapphics, you know what i am talking about. 

ingenue: someone interested in politics who siobhan is sharing their passion with !

neighbours: anyone who lives in elmsett court, who wants to live next to moorbrooke’s favourite sapphic it couple? it comes with invitations to dinner and two adventuring cats called vita & virginia that they might have to retrieve from your house.

TAKEN CONNECTIONS

confidante: the only person, aside from alante, who knows the truth. that siobhan and alante’s relationship first ignited in a blazing, letter-ridden extramarital affair, eventually resulting in alante leaving her husband all those years ago. the person siobhan confides her worries in, sometimes. [ alec barlowe. ] 

OTHER TRIVIA

owns a motorbike.

they can still write in anne lister code from letters to alante.

of course, she is a democrat. we do not fuck with republicans here.

watches vita and virginia three times in your average week.

has an eclectic music taste, but frequents the record store because there’s nothing like vinyl. 

( yes, they have hozier on vinyl. )

will only drink white wine. don’t ask them why. they don’t know. 

would have zero wardrobe sense if it wasn’t for alante. money just doesn’t equal style.

the only social network she knows how to use is twitter. please, someone, teach them how to use instagram. bestie needs a social media guru because the people who run the rest of her platforms don’t get it, either.

allergic to banana. but eats it anyway for the mouth tingles.

has kept a diary religiously since the age of twelve.

[mellometal]

I know I said I don't associate myself with the Panic! fandom anymore, but this is something I have been ACHING to talk about. This is some bad timing, since it was Brent Wilson's birthday recently (yes, his birthday is July 20th, NOT August 20th; source: I've been following him on Twitter for five years and he's actually said this), but this is going to be about Brent and the whole situation with him.

Warning: What I'm about to say about the situation with Brent Wilson (original bassist) is heavily biased, since I do stan him. YEAH. I STAN BRENT MATTHEW WILSON, THE ORIGINAL BASSIST OF PANIC! AT THE DISCO. CRY ABOUT IT. STAY MAD. He's one of the ONLY members of Panic! At The Disco (past and present) who I give a fuck about, besides Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Ian Crawford.

Trigger warning: This will be talking about arrest, jail, drugs (doing and selling), weapons (guns), childbirth, parenthood, and some other things. If these things are triggering for you or make you uncomfortable in any way, you do not have to read this post. Consume media that sparks joy for you.

Disclaimer: I don't know Brent in real life, I'm not in his circle of friends or people he's closest to (like his wife Taylor, his parents, his brother Blake, his in-laws, his irl friends, coworkers, etc.), and this is not me acting like I do. I don't know what his life is like outside of Twitter. The only contact I've ever had with him has been on Twitter, but it was pretty limited.

My thoughts on this situation are MY opinion, any possibilities in my thoughts are just theories and not proven to be true, and I'm not trying to excuse whatever he was allegedly charged with.

Just for the record, I am willing to have a civil conversation with anyone who hates Brent. The minute you attack me or anyone else who likes Brent, or a whole bunch of you start circle jerking about how much you hate him, you're getting blocked. If all you're going to bring up is the shit Brent did when he was in his late teens instead of adding anything useful to the discussion, you're getting blocked too. I already know about that. It happened back in 2004-2006. They were all still kids, to a point. Brent has changed quite a bit since then. The whole "Hate on Brent Wilson" bandwagon is stupid, toxic, and I refuse to jump on it. I've never jumped on it when I was in the Panic! fandom, so why would I do it now?

Remember, without Brent bringing Br3nd0n Ur!3 into Panic!, your precious Br3nd0n wouldn't be successful today. JUST SO YA KNOW. (I'm very salty right now, if you can't already tell.)

If you would like to know about what happened with Brent, a few months ago, he was arrested on (alleged) drug charges and illegal possession of a weapon, along with a traffic violation and something to do with a probation violation too. He was set to go to court back in March for his sentencing, but that's the most recent information I've found. I don't know what the fuck is going on at this point. I don't know if he's been sentenced, if he's doing anything alternative like rehabilitation, nothing. (The reason why I said they're alleged charges is because I don't know if he's even been to court for sentencing or anything like that.)

People's reactions were mixed. Some actually LAUGHED and made a whole bunch of jokes about him being arrested (that's fucking insensitive and cruel). Some felt bad for Brent because he just became a dad (yes, he's a dad, but I'm not posting any pictures of the kid out of respect for Brent and Taylor). Some were shocked. Some weren't surprised (how and why????).

My reaction? It was pretty mixed. I was shocked. I thought I was having a fever dream and what I was seeing was fake at first. When I realized it wasn't fake, I was crushed. I felt absolutely horrible for Brent, Taylor, their kid, and all their loved ones. Like, I care about the guy a lot. Obviously.

Ironically, the band members and/or group members I stan are either the black sheep or they're just not as popular. Or they're the fucking scapegoat almost EVERYONE attacks for the stupidest shit. Brent's the black sheep as well as the scapegoat of Panic!, for example....and I would say that Ian is another black sheep too. Not for any negative reasons. He's simply not as popular, due to the fact he was only in Panic! during the Vices era for a short time. He's underrated as FUCK. I'm one of the black sheep in a lot of places [except for friend groups], even in my own family, so it explains why I stan Brent still.

I just want to say that selling drugs and doing drugs aren't inherently bad things to do. This doesn't mean that I'm for kids doing drugs and selling them. Absolutely not. I want people who do drugs or sell drugs to be treated like human beings. I also want them to be able to seek help easier without the judgment or being treated like a criminal. Personally, I don't do any of that, but I understand why someone would. (This kind of thing hits home for me.)

As far as the whole weapon thing is concerned (it was a gun), I personally don't like them and we need better gun control in the United States. I don't think I'd trust anyone who owns a gun because of the possibility that they would hurt me or worse in an argument or something. I've seen my abuser threaten to pull a gun out on my dad when I was a kid. Thankfully it wasn't loaded, but still. It was scary. I wouldn't own a gun because I'm autistic, mentally ill, and I'm afraid of what I might do in certain situations. If someone wants to own a gun for protection, hunting, target practice, or to collect them, fine. BUT YOU DON'T NEED A HUGE ASS GUN THAT THE MILITARY USES TO GO HUNTING OR FOR TARGET PRACTICE. I don't like them, I don't want one, I don't trust myself with one, guns scare me, and I want better gun control in the United States. It terrifies me that people openly carry. I understand that's the Second Amendment and all, but it doesn't change the fact that it terrifies me. As long as you're responsible with that kind of thing, I don't really care.

I don't know what Brent's reason was for (allegedly) owning a weapon (maybe for protection or something?), but it's none of my business.

In my opinion, this is all stupid shit. There are people who have done horrible things and they're STILL free people, but oh, god forbid you do or sell drugs! THAT'S bad. /s

Here's my response below. I'll type out everything, except for the disclaimers and what he was arrested for. I will start from the fifth paragraph on the first screenshot and continue from there. This is so anyone who has a hard time reading any of the screenshots can read them easier.

(My response was from around the time it was announced that he was arrested. Just so you know.)

First screenshot, fifth paragraph:

First off, I just want to say that this situation is a fucked up one for anyone to be in. I would never wish this on anyone. Especially because now, there's a baby involved, so this makes the situation worse. This is pretty difficult for me to put into words without coming off as bitchy or anything like that, so if I get bitchy here, I apologize.

Second screenshot, fifth paragraph:

I don't know what caused this mess to begin with, but I do know that Brent and his wife Taylor just had a baby a couple months ago (when I was typing this out initially). While it's a good thing for them, it can be assumed that this is also a very stressful time for them.

Combination of third and fourth screenshots (These are pretty much only theories; not facts, and they will be broken up into paragraphs): 

The pandemic most likely isn’t helping their case. Las Vegas is a HUGE city and I’m sure A LOT of people there are REALLY struggling right now in all aspects. Maybe Brent and Taylor are struggling to pay off hospital bills or whatever (to put this into perspective, the average cost for hospital childbirth in Nevada is around $21,239, according to CBS News). The average salary for an accountant in Nevada is anywhere from $34k to $150k, and that all depends on education, experience (how long you’ve been in said career), certifications, and any additional skills. Take into account any other necessities they have to pay for, like their mortgage, bills, insurance, etc. 

Let’s say that they did manage to pay everything else off, but they’re struggling to pay the hospital bills from when they had their baby. (Having a baby is fucking expensive in the United States, regardless of whether there are complications or not, and regardless of whether you have insurance or not.) Let’s say they’ve tried every single option out there, but nothing seems to give still. Maybe the drug selling was a last resort on Brent’s part. (As I’ve said, I don’t know the full story.)

The whole subject of drug paraphernalia hits home for me. My parents both did drugs when I was a kid. I’ve seen it a lot growing up. My dad was, in the past, in and out of jail for drugs and other things that aren’t relevant here. I’m not sure if my mom was in and out of jail for the same shit, but I know for a fact my dad was. Y’know, because he told me. ANYWAYS. 

I get it. You gotta do what you gotta do. It’s not something I’d do personally, but I understand why somebody would do it. I wouldn’t treat them any differently. Maybe they’re selling drugs or whatever to keep themselves from losing their homes, put food on the table for their families, help pay their bills, pay for their education, whatever. It could be a number of things.

Fifth screenshot (people’s reactions to the news and my thoughts on them):

Now...let’s move on to how people are reacting to the news. There’s a lot of mixed reactions. A lot of people feel bad for Brent, especially since he and Taylor just had a baby a couple months ago (as I was typing this). Some people “aren’t surprised” because they were never fans of him in the first place. Others think this is amusing. I’ve seen some people who are solely involved in celebrity news (similar to TMZ) making jokes about the situation, which to me, is appalling.

Let me tell you something. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of Brent or not. This shit isn’t funny or cute in the slightest. It sure isn’t funny or cute to anyone who is being affected by the situation, which includes Brent himself, Taylor, their son, and all their loved ones. Like, full stop. Have some decency. Y’all are fucking gross. You can dislike Brent all you want, but he’s a real human being who fucked up. Personally, when I first heard the news, I couldn’t believe it at first. I thought I was having a fever dream. That is, until I looked it up and actually found that it was true. I was CRUSHED. Why? Because Brent is one of the last people I’d even expect to get into this whole mess. 

Sixth screenshot (my thoughts):

If I’m being honest here...like, BRUTALLY honest, Brent needs to be put in REHAB, not jail. For anyone who has been here (on my Instagram) from when I used to dedicate this account to vintage Panic!, you know how I’ve never said anything but kind things about Brent. From the few times I’ve interacted with him a little bit on Twitter and from how I’ve seen him interact with others on the site, Brent is one of the sweetest people ever. I’m being genuine here. He’s a good guy who fucked up and did some dumb shit. Does that make him bad? No. Then again, as far as I’ve read about the current situation at hand, it’s too early to really determine anything. None of us know what caused him to have drug paraphernalia or anything else that he was arrested for in the first place.

Seventh screenshot (wrap-up):

I’m gonna wrap this up here. My heart aches for Brent, Taylor, their son, and all their loved ones. I hope that everything gets straightened out, all sides of the story come out, and that Brent can get his shit together again. Like he had been doing since he was kicked out of Panic!. I wish everyone involved nothing but the absolute best right now, given how fucked up the whole situation is. (Just to clear up any confusion, when I was referring to Taylor, I’m NOT referring to Taylor Swift or any other celebrity with the name Taylor. I’m referring to Brent’s wife.) 

If you’ve read this far, thank you! If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’ll try to answer as best as I can.

Have my thoughts on the situation changed since February - March of this year? No.

I think that Brent needs some kind of help. That's why I mentioned rehab. It's obvious to me that's the kind of help he needs. I don't believe jail is helpful in certain circumstances (like drug charges, traffic violations, and other nonviolent crimes)....at least in the United States. They treat people who do drugs and/or sell drugs like they're subhuman. Yet there are people who have committed violent, deplorable, horrific crimes, and they're still free people. Funny how that works. I'm not too educated about how the jail system works in other countries, so I can't exactly tell you how I feel about that system on an international standpoint.

Brent should be with his wife and child. I hope the guy gets his shit together again. I believe Brent WILL get his shit together. Genuinely. I would never wish anything bad on him.

I don't crucify Brent like a lot of people in the Panic! fandom do. The only reason I would hypothetically do so is if Brent actually committed violent, deplorable, horrific crimes (i.e., chomo bullshit, trafficking...like, extreme shit) that would warrant him being locked up and I'd drop him completely at that point. OBVIOUSLY I DON'T SEE HIM DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT. EVER. THAT'S JUST HYPOTHETICAL.

Anyways....have a good day, y'all.

[griffinnblake]

A couple of you have asked for it, and Part II of my Bellarke fanfic rec is finally here! 

This is suuuuuuper late considering I promised it a while ago, but I blame moving to a new house, teaching a new course, and getting sick at least twice in one month. What can ya do? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

These fics are in no particular order because one) I don’t have any particular favorites and two) I ain’t got time for that.  I hope y’all enjoy! 

P.S. If y’all missed the first part of my fanfic rec, you can find it here!

P.P.S. This is my disclaimer that I obviously haven’t included all the Bellarke fics out there. If you have a favorite that I did not include, I probably haven’t read it yet, in which case, please share!

a castle in the clouds by @pawprinterfanfic Star Wars AU. Bellamy is Han. Clarke is Leia. Oh and did I mention that there’s some fake dating? That doesn’t normally do it for me, but I can make an exception this time. *kisses fingertips*

We’ll Paint the Town Blue by @animmortalist

Clarke wants to ruin her reputation in this College AU and who better to do it than resident heartbreaker Bellamy Blake? They enter a friends with benefits/Bonnie and Clyde arrangement (it works I swear), but oops, they like like each other.

(clumsy) ‘cause I’m fallin’ in love by skai_heda

Sometimes you just need a cute little S1 AU where Bellamy faints and Clarke gives him a hard time for it. Oh, and feelings. 

small dot among infinite stars by @kindclaws

This is a really interesting take on how one change can drastically affect future events. It’s a S2+ AU where Dante shoots Cage and Clarke doesn’t irradiate Mount Weather, but the end of the world still comes.

someone let the poets out by @kindclaws (WIP)

This one’s hella meta and I love it. Even though it’s based on the GoT cast, I could totally see it also applying to the 100 cast given how S7 may or may not go. Fingers crossed for a decent ending. Anyway, Bellarke and co. are the stars of a popular show in its final season, and they are horrified by what Jaha comes up with story-wise. (Think those final GoT table reads. C’mon, we’ve all seen the footage of Conleth tossing his script aside when Varys is killed off). So they decide to recreate their own low-budget version of the final season. And Bellamy may or not be having a crisis regarding his feelings for a certain blonde co-star. OH! And how could I forget the social media tie-ins? Brilliant. Definitely read this one on a desktop to get the full experience.

how I learned to stop worrying and love the apocalypse by @kindclaws 

Another kindclaws fic. I’m sorry but the writing is just so good. I can’t help but include them. This one’s a Praimfaya AU fic and also an exes fic and also a time loop fic and also an angst fic and I love it so much. I personally recommend the 2nd person POV version (chapter 1), but if 3rd person is more your jam, then just read chapter 2!

An Evening I Will Not Forget by @octannibal-blake

Bellamy is a soldier who has a “one night stand” with Clarke the night before he’s deployed, but these losers can’t have a one night stand to save their lives, so of course there’s emotion involved. I’m a sucker for military AUs, so of course I liked this one.

i would give my life just to hold your hand (i’m your number one fan) by @captaindaddykru

Bellamy’s an actor. Clarke’s a singer. He likes some of her photos on Twitter. She slides into his DMs. It’s the start of a beautiful friendship love story. These idiots I swear. I’m actually surprised this is the first safeandsound13 fic I’ve listed on here considering the first part of my other fic rec was basically a love letter to her Hunger Games AU series. That, and I’m subscribed to her as an author. Seriously. Go read everything she writes.

so i sing a song of love by @hiddenpolkadots

Clarke gets pregnant and Bellamy’s the father, but they’re not together. Oops. They figure it out.

It’s All Coming Back by @johnmurphysass

Clarke receives an invitation to Octavia’s wedding, but the problem is that she hasn’t seen Bellamy or Octavia in over 5 years. And Clarke and Bellamy are both hiding secrets. Y’all. This one was emotional af. But so good. I will say, heed Tricia’s author tags and warnings.  Just in case.

a beam in darkness: let it grow. by starsonfire

I’m not sure if this user has a tumblr, so I just linked their ao3 profile. This is a S6 Finale AU where Clarke gives up and Bellamy helps her. Again, heed the warnings just in case. But it’s really good.

like you mean it (like it’s splitting you in two) by @talistheintrovert

Talis lets them sleep. She lets tHEM SLEEP. That’s all you need to know. 

as moonlight through the pines by @hiddenpolkadots

Clarke and Bellamy get matching tattoos while drunk and now all the Grounders think they’re married. Heh. Sign me up.

guess it’s never really over by @captaindaddykru

Bellarke + exes + Bellarke kid + Bellarke trying for another kid + angst + fluff = Bingo for Lindsay. Looking back at it, I think it was written for Bellarke Bingo. An ACTUAL bingo fic. So basically this just means you really need to read it. 

All tomorrow’s parties. by @robotmango

This is a really cool take on a Praimfaya AU. Bellamy is for intents and purposes the Time Traveler’s Husband. I LOVED this one.

Kiss It Better by delinquents

This is a really cute S1 AU with forehead kisses. Forehead kisses! It’s the only work by the author, but I hope they write more.

speedin’ into a new sunrise by @carrieeve

Clarke participates in a night of speed dating and ends up reuniting with an old college friend slash huge what if. It’s super cute and fluffy and totally the type of fic needed to break up an angst session. I love angst like nobody’s business, but sometimes you just need something happy.

everything will bring a chain of love by @lost-n-stereo

Another cute fic but this time with Bellarke as parents! These are short little fills combined into a one shot, and they’re just perfect. I love it.

A Safe Place to Land by @octannibal-blake

Bellarke as parents but the Angst™ version. Basically Marper dies and Bellarke take care of Jordan. It’s sad but so good, I promise.

Still Yours by @arysafics

Bellamy and Clarke agree to be friends after they break up. Angst ensues. Being friends with your ex is hard y’all. I promise it has a happy ending. 

when it all comes together by soundtracktomysoul

Jasper wants Bellarke together and creates a group chat that includes all the delinquents. Plotting and shenanigans ensue. This one was super fun, and in going back to it, I discovered that this author also has a Bellarke Rock Band AU. Haven’t read it yet but definitely going to check it out!

gone til november, on my city come december by @jamesstruttingpotter

Bellarke are cops and Bellamy goes undercover. Angst. Pining. Gah, I love it.

we’re never done with killing time by @bestivals

The angst. The angst. This is a post-s5 AU fic where they’re onboard the Eligius ship but didn’t go into cryo. Bellamy and Clarke have a series of 48 conversations and we get what they were supposed to do which is TALK.

I think I’m going to call it for now. I hope you enjoy all these wonderful fanfics! And if you have additional favorites, please share!

[hollenka99]

Now That I’ve Played SoulScape...

This will be a spoiler review so please don't read this if you plan on playing the game yourself. Will naturally also contain spoilers for SeptiScape too so the same goes for that game as well.

General Comments

(This was originally all bulletpointed but I decided it was easier to read as paragraphs instead)

It's so good to see the -Scape (Scapeverse?) boys again. It's been over 2 years so their face design looks slightly different but that's expected when it comes to continual development as an artist. My favourite new looks are Chase, Marvin and Nega.

Also voice acting???? Hell yeah! Marvin’s expressions give me the kind of vibe that they were inspired by cat memes and his voice acting seems perfect for him. 

I was just wandering around the woods, exploring the area, when Angus makes a pun involving loss. It took me by surprise and I spent a full 10 seconds being super confused by this seemingly random comment before noticing the trees. Then I just wanted to flip my laptop. I can't remember if it was Dev Ritchy or Dev Blake who claimed responsibility but I want you to know I was glaring at my screen for a minute because of what you did. Have been lowkey wondering whether Lucky Luciano was there since this happened last night.

Straight up melted when Bing saw Angus in his true appearance and they started calling each other sunflower and angel etc. Their reunion during the good end and any/all interactions they have in this game send me every time.

I spent so long just wandering around Attitude City. Mostly because I was too dumb to realise the cliffs were to the side and you could get the bus to the skating rink. At least I got to explore the place thoroughly.

Loved seeing some characters from SPG making cameos. I saw Mack’s sprite and went “Surely not... oh my god it is!”. The dialogue with Billy where he makes references to chapter 1 of GITS were brilliant.

The only issue I had was in the church because for some reason it was super laggy and quite difficult to do anything in that room. But that it is just one small area that slightly dampened the experience. Everything else in the game ran smoothly.

Chad just showing up and being like "Well... how about I let someone of your exact description have all this weed of the dankest degree for free." was iconic.

Fuck Stacy. That's all I'm going to say. But it does go to show that men aren't the only ones who are capable of being abusers and thank you for showing that.

I had to take a moment when Jackie told his younger self that they were braver and stronger than they gave themselves credit for.

I am so glad Marvin has a friend like Beau who had his back while he was being taken advantage of. The world needs more Beaus.

I loved the art on Beau's cards. If it’s mentioned in the credits, sorry because I think I may have missed it but kudos to whoever designed those cards.

I could watch that empty room all day. I'm sure there might have been an easter egg if you chose to stay in the room multiple times but I didn't pursue it. Didn't even see Angus show up because I was anticipating a mild jumpscare from [OMITTED] so my hands were covering my face.

Not entirely sure what the cause of Emma's death is. When Henrik said he blamed himself, I originally thought he might have made the fatal mistake of letting a baby sleep in his bed. But I doubt Henrik would do something that dangerous, especially since he has a background in medicine. It's more likely to be an unfortunate case of cot death/SIDS, which just makes it sadder because sometimes that stuff can simply Happen and nobody is to blame, least of all the new father who simply left his daughter alone for a short while to get some sleep.

Bing's boss battle was so tough, I swear. He kept doing that attack where multiple people suffered a fair bit of damage. I lost to him once because I did not stock up properly. Classic case of not having enough BB when shops were available then not having access to shops when I did have enough BB to buy a bunch of white choc cookies and Jameson. 2nd time lucky though.

I found burn damage is your best friend with bosses. Now I will forever swear by this method whenever I replay this game.

I managed it on my first try but man, the fight between Anti and Angus was rough too. I couldn't get Angus' code manipulation trick to work with Anti so no burns to help me this time. Plus, the guy kept freezing time and healing himself like wow, who'd be mean enough to replenish their HP mid-fight. Anyway, it ended up being a case of them continually hitting each other with occasional misses and me feeding Angus cookies whenever his HP grew yellow.

When it came to the scene where Anti gets his souls back, I honestly thought Angus would give up his chance of feeling whole with nothing to fall back on because of the card Beau showed us where someone falls off a tower. I'm really glad Angus got to have a good ending too. Both he and Anti deserve to be whole and happy.

BAD END SEAN BAD END SEAN BAD END SEAN

No but seriously, I think it's really cool that both of the SeptiScape endings are canon. I have no clue who the shadow person could be but I am hyped to eventually find out.

I can't wait for EndScape to be released and we have literally only gotten SoulScape in the past 24 hours.

Angus and Anti

Thought these two deserved their own section since the game largely revolves around them and their conflict of wanting to exist but needing Posi and Nega to do so.

That first bit with Anti's horror world creeped me the hell out. It was after 10pm, maybe around 11 even. My room was completely dark except for my screen. I was so tense the whole time I walked around, incredibly wary throughout that section. I was living when Anti confronted Angus once you caught up to him. And when Angus went to find him in the woods near the campsite? My mind kept yelling 'ThisisbadThisisbadThisisbad' as we approached.

After that first bit, I looked forward to any Anti section because I love his character. He was completely justified in his motivations. I mean, Angus admits to stealing Nega as soon as he returns to his house with Sean after their fight in the first game. If anything, I'm surprised it takes him as long as it does for him to realise [OMITTED] is the true Anti.

I really liked the truth that it hadn't just been Anti that Angus affected when he grabbed Nega. There was also Henry and that universe's Bing, among others presumably. They all deserved a happy ending and it looks like they're getting it after all these years. I think it was very sweet that they threw Anti a birthday party as an epilogue.

Oh also, seeing the dynamic between Angus, Posi and Nega was really cool. They've obviously grown close to each other in the year that's passed since the events of SeptiScape. The souls admitting they felt returning to Anti was the right thing to do was the perfect kind of gut punch. You know deep down that they're right and Anti does indeed need them but at the same time you're going "Wait no, you can't leave Angus!"

All in all, I think the whole story arc concerning Anti and Angus was really well written. You want to dislike Anti because he's the antagonist to Angus' protagonist, an aggressive one at that. But you can't help siding with both of them.

Either way, I already said it this morning when I'd just finished the game about 15 minutes before but well done. You did yet another great job with this one. SeptiScape is one of my favourite games in general, I can tell I'll be replaying SoulScape several times like I have with the first game and I have no doubt I'll be here in 2-3 years gushing about EndScape just like I am right now.

Once again, thank you for creating these games. Now go grab a slice of cake, watch your favourite movie, put an album you love on blast... whatever it is that you do to treat yourself. You've all earned it.

[cloveroctobers]

HENRIK LILJENQUIST—

IG info/Bio: @/adventuresbyhenrik | 53.1k followers — “imma wild boi🌿🌏🧗 | happily taken👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨

23 (24) years old

Parents are both Swedish and only speak Swedish, leaving henrik to also become fluent

His father Halvi is a pilot

His mother Lova is a race car driver

Siblings? Probably a brother, named Jahan & younger by two or three years + they get along quite well

Born & raised in Isle of Wight, England + loves it there & thinks it’s the best place for him to live, it’s his own private island in his mind plus he’s always finding something to do. He stays active

Climbing & wilderness survival instructor, he gets to talk as much as he wants while also teaching people AND all while being active! Sounds like the perfect job for him

Probably developed ADHD around his pre-teen age, leaving his parents to find him something he enjoys + can slow down and focus on

used to be on meds for it

Was well-known in high school, probably in the yearbook club since he was able to run around & get to know people but was kinda shit at knowing the functions of a camera

His selfie game has gotten a lot better now but he mostly posts anything but his face. You’ll see more of his face on his stories & location shots on his feed

Feels his hair is his best physical feature & his prized possession, would never THINK about cutting it. Even just a trim is a bit much for him

Always tries to be positive but at the same time can be condescending since he sometimes won’t pick his words wisely ex.) when he gave MC a backhanded “compliment” about makeup, being active, + wanting them to “think of others ” feelings — just because someone is opposite from you doesn’t mean you have to shit on the way they carry themselves...that’s my issue with him

maybe he’s a Taurus?

Loves fall & spring, more so fall since that’s when the weather feels nicest to him plus allergy season is a REAL bitch

The guy’s real Adventurous & always managing to find something to do. If you’re ever bored just hit him up, he has plenty of recommendations 

Family owns a cottage & he’s the one who goes out there more than his own family does! “You should just sell it to me at this point!” He tells his parents over dinner often & it is strongly considered

Has five birds & a husky, when he goes on road trips they’re always with him. Which can get a little hectic at times but they’re his family, he’s a, “birdog dad”

BLAKE secretly dislikes them all, feeling like they take up space sometimes (especially when she wants to cuddle) but she deals with it since she cares for the guy — yes, they’re still dating

She’s been convincing him to cut a few inches off of his hair which he took like a slap in the face, “that’s like me asking you to quit speaking up for humans!” “No, no it’s not.”

They’re polar opposites with flaws which causes disagreements between the two of them by putting each other in their places but they learn to compromise? (*insert eartha Kitt gif laughing here*] if they want this to work

His mother seems to be the only one who dislikes blake (she strongly feels he should have bought MC back home...that’s right she watched the show from time to time. Not always since she doesn’t care for reality tv but her friends encouraged her to watch bits and pieces) while his dad and brother approve

It is tense when Blake and his mom are in the same room which makes Henrik sad since he believes Blake deserves a chance. He took a chance on her and it seems to be going pretty well so why couldn’t his mother just be happy for him like the rest of the family is?

Henrik loves his low-maintenance girls who are open to trying new things with him, Blake is usually down most of the time but she likes her personal space too..which henrik struggles to understand

He wants her to live with him, he’s sure his parents will let him have the cottage if Blake decides to live with him but Blake loves her freedom in Kingston

It’s hidden but I feel like he might be one of those guys that feels like “a woman should follow a man” since that’s what his father installed into his boys— which failed because his wife isn’t just a housewife, she has goals and went after them

I feel like Blake turns to social media almost always to post about her feelings (I can’t remember what I picked the first time around as my occupation but as I’m currently playing I picked human rights campaigner so) but it’s mostly subtle shade & it always goes recognized by fans which brings drama between her, mc x Bobby

Henrik jumps in because what kind of guy would he be if he didn’t have his gf’s back? Doesn’t care for the drama but he & Bobby usually said slick shit to each other in the villa, it’s safe to say they’re not really friends but they’re not enemies either that’s mostly between their gf/wife

Henrik doesn’t care enough about Bobby to dislike him but he won’t put up with his shit any longer and what easier way to do that than online? He feels like they can settle this with a phone call but Blake & MC aren’t with the shits and don’t want their men speaking to each other

Henrik & Bobby eventually have a chat in secret anyways

Henrik warns Blake that this can effect her job status if she doesn’t calm down since she uses social media for her cause

She usually knows when to stop but can’t help it if it slips out sometimes

They talk it out and move on usually with whatever fun idea henrik may have

Owns a ford bronco from the 90’s that used to be his uncle’s who builds tree houses for a living and is still running, a jeep gladitor, or some sort of pickup truck

Knows how to make the best apricot jam

All about saving the bees

Loves animals, probably on his journey to veganism if he’s not already there

We all know this fucking guy likes eating M0sS

“Embarrassing fact” but uh big fan of twilight, feels like Seth Clearwater and him are meant to be best buds but he also stans the Volturi 😷

Him and Lucas of course remained the best of mates, since they live 2 hrs away from each other and are always busy living their lives they always have to plan out when they can hangout but that fails 60% of the time when henrik pops up at Lucas’ job or at his flat not giving him a choice but to hang out

They’re always vacationing together too? Sure Henrik is his own version of low-key while Lucas likes a bit of luxury...they still find a balance to just have a good time regardless if they live different lifestyles...they’re basically married

Always texting if they’re not hanging out, henrik with his memes that Lucas doesn’t understand & Lucas just checking in on henrik’s well being which leads the conversation to many topics

He’s actually cool with Gary now? They like/comment on each other’s posts & even text here and there

Even ran into Rocco once on a road trip, that was interesting but when life gives you lemons...we’ll just say that

Even him and Ibrahim share recommendations through text or DM’s which is nice! Henrik is always down for friends even tho they’re not like his personal friends (except for Lucas, he fits into his criteria)

Most of his work is physical and talking but he goes the extra mile by hiking every Sunday either with his friends, Blake, or family — he’s genuinely likes being one with nature

If he’s at the cottage, he’s always outside, chopping extra wood, making sure the yard looks like it belongs on a magazine, or takes the boat out on lake to nap since he doesn’t like to fish as much anymore

Currently trying to grow strawberries but some animal keeps eating them :/

Adores adventure time, the x-files, bobs burgers + animal planet, and travel channels—like he’s a real dad

If he could shower outside everyday, he would, it’s such a freeing experience to him

His outings consist of being in the woods 24/7 so in his mind when he brings Blake out there with him, it’s a version of a date, whenever they spend time together is a date to him, which she has to remind him that she wants to do something different like getting dressed up every now and then + go out to dinner which he HATES but he’ll do his best to please her, as long as the restaurant is more earthy than snobby he’s okay

100% would survive the apocalypse, he knows how to make due with what he’s got, he’s always been that way

Enjoys rom-com’s so he’ll laugh at how cringe they are but still enjoy it, indie films, ALITA was the best film of 2019 to him & currently his fav film is, “the call of the wild” with Harrison Ford

His favorite films ever are Indiana Jones, Lara Coft: Tomb raider, Terminator, and I am legend

Aliens ARE real, they’re out there and he’ll be part of the reason they’ve been exposed

I feel like he wanted to be an astronaut growing up but then realized he’d be a confined space for long periods of time and said cancel that shit lol + he isn’t the greatest at science. History? He did real well in that subject

I think he loves Lorde, listens to Bon Iver—especially on early morning commutes to work, Rex Orange County, Omar Apollo, Joji, the nbhd, the driver era, kid cudi...yktfv

Celeb crushes?/types: The main girls from Charlie’s angels 2019, Alexa PenaVega... “you know Carmen from spy kids?” Diana silvers, Dove Cameron, JAMIE CHUNG, & VANESSA HUDGENS

Anthem = Wallows, “OK”

[kitkatopinions]

The more I think about Ren's new semblance ability and the scene with the Ace Ops, the more I hate it. Long post full of crit ahead.

No one else is discovering new semblance abilities in tense situations other than Jaune, who discovered his one ability. Llike, maybe the Fall of Beacon would've been stressful enough people would be discovering new abilities? And Weiss doesn't count, because her ability was treated like just another glyph, only this one is special. Whether getting new powers is experience and skill based, or trauma based, long time hunters like Qrow and James should have way more abilities than they do, and the Ace Ops and Winter all should have at least two powers. CRWBY is very choosy about how and when they use their ill defined rules about auras and semblances.

Ren is in control of this power right after getting it, and chooses to use it on the Ace Ops and Winter, but not Yang or Jaune. This implies that Ren doesn't read their emotions because that's a breach of privacy, but feels free to not only breach the Ace Ops privacy, but talk about it out loud. Because trust is for friends, and so are basic boundaries. It would make sense to me for Ren to use his new powers on Jaune and Yang as well, since he's doubting everyone’s capabilities and strength right now. But whatever. Why would we need to know how they feel?

But on that… Why do we need to know how the Ace Ops feel??? We as an audience already know Marrow is sad and doubting his place, Harriet is angry incarnate, Elm is also angry, and Vine seems fine. This doesn't do anything for the story except let Ren try to divide them more than they already are, during the worst time possible. Sure, while Salem's at Atlas's doorstep and literal children are probably dead, tell one of the members of the most elite team of Atlas graduates who were just tasked with a vitally important mission to ditch his position. Winter seemed fully convinced by Jaune actually having a good plan, so Ren figuring out a new power and turning into a mood ring didn't do anything. Also, Ren doesn't just tell them what they're feeling, he also reads their motivation and where they belong at the same time. Because 'Harriet angry' apparently translates into 'Harriet is incredibly torn up about Clover dying and trying not to feel it!' And 'Marrow sad' apparently means 'Marrow no longer fits in with this group and is actually a good person!'

And then Ren reads Winter's emotions and sees that Winter is feeling everything. So like… Okay. Are the Ace Ops Tinkerbell in the Peter Pan book? Only able to feel one emotion at a time? Harriet isn't angry and sad, she's just so angry it's all Ren can see! And Vine isn't sad, or angry, he's just (presumably) calm. But Winter is feeling all the emotions equally. Which of course, means she also doesn't belong here.Most adults feel more than one thing at a time, by the way. Idk why this makes Ren think Winter is special and different, rather than him wondering how the Ace Ops can only be displaying one emotion.

Ren also tells the Ace Ops the reason they fail is their terrible team work, since they won't admit they're friends, despite the fact they fought amazingly as a team at the start of the last season. Everyone jot that down. Strategy, planning, experience, knowledge of each other's skill set, and common goals all mean nothing. The only thing that can make you a fully functional team is friendship. We're ignoring the fact that Blake and Yang scoffed at the idea of working outside of their duo, never mind that the group literally drew their weapons on Qrow in V6 and demanded he do what they want or leave. Never mind that Yang and Ruby are currently fighting, Yang and Blake are apparently fighting, Yang and Ren are fighting, and Ren and Nora have been distant, cold, and frustrated with each other for one and a half seasons now. They still haven't had any problems fighting as a team because underneath it all, they're friends! In a normal, fun romp anime or cartoon, I might be able to be okay with this. But isn't RWBY marketing itself as a hopeful grimdark? Or at least, aren’t they saying this is a more mature, nuanced tone than the fun romp that only hinted at more darkness in the early seasons? You can't have 'morally gray characters that drift between ally and antagonist’ just lose because they aren't admitting they’re friends in even a hopeful grimdark. And it’s not strong plot for the most powerful graduates of a strict military school who have been on the field for at least a couple years (except maybe Marrow) lose to the first year drop outs THEY HELPED TRAIN because they're hiding their feelings for each other. I'm sorry, I thought this was a show where skill and consequence mattered.

On top of all this… We all know that portraying women of color - specifically black women - as constantly angry and hiding her emotions is a racist stereotype, right? I don't mean 'having a black women displaying anger is racist,' but again, the show had Ren sense her emotions and figure out what's wrong with her, and she was only angry, and Ren decided she's hiding her feelings behind a wall of thick anger. Elm is the same way, even going so far as to try and attack Ren. And it's not just this instance. They've been overwhelmingly angry since the end of volume six. Whether or not CRWBY thought this through, they should've done a google search that could've let them know not to do it. Vine is almost as bad in being the stoic, calm, at peace, Asian. I'm only holding off on calling him just as bad because I don't know for sure that green represents peace or calm.

Don't get me wrong, there were things I liked about that scene. Ren choosing to act and do what he could was a great choice, he clearly took what Jaune said to heart, and decided inaction due to doubts and fears wouldn't help anyone. I hope this doesn't mean the end of Ren doubting things and challenging the team (since his concerns are very valid and weren't solved,) but I like that direction. Winter really shined in this scene. I just wish the writers would put as much care and complexity into Harriet, Elm, and Vine. And the main star of this scene in my opinion was Jaune. He didn't fight the plan to blow up the whale, only requesting that they be allowed to go in ahead and try to rescue Oscar and laying out the benefits. I love this. Jaune isn't asking her not to do her job, he's not doubting that it has to be done, he's not blaming her for it, and he's accepting that if they go in, they may become part of that sacrifice. But he's trying to save a friend that's important to him anyway. I think this might be the best I've ever liked Jaune, actually.

But the cons of this scene, in my opinion, severely out weigh the pros.