#giga gathering

[afkintheark]

Our kitties have been sitting out to make jerky for us and I figured I'd get a shot of my "twins" since they were both there. >.>

I was working out the exact spot for our water pen and found a little level 15 friend. Soon as Kel came down to see her it was decided she would join the otter pack. XD

Today Aras started our Base Basics event so I went out to obliterate the diplo population and found a 154 dire bear! Since our current bears are kinda low I brought him home, and while waiting for him to tame I spotted this 159 parasaur with stupidly high melee and figured why not.

And I've been having a single-player itch and wanted to get a pic of Center!Cooper so. He's not quite the right shade of blue, but he's close enough I'm happy.

[sp0o0kylights]

Part One / Part Two / Part Three (You Are Here)

Complete Thing on A03

Sure enough, Jason Carver had brought a priest. 

The idiot himself stood next to the guy, smugly grinning like a hunter posing with his prized buck, a small crowd already gathering. 

Opposing them was Michael Wheeler, hands planted on Hellfire’s table and back up like a pissed off cat’s, mouth moving faster than Eddie thought possible.

He couldn’t hear what Wheeler was saying. 

Frankly did not want to know what Wheeler was saying, and could only do his damndest to intervene before Mike tanked the situation entirely. 

Gareth and Jeff flanked him, both tense as hell. Neither had backed down though, standing tall and holding ground even as Jason pulled more and more people into his little spectacle. 

Lucas and Grant on the other hand, were standing off to the side.

They weren’t cowering exactly, but both were definitely wincing as Gareth opened his mouth to add his own two cents. 

Given the scowl on the priest, it was probably something nasty, 

‘Fuck.’ Eddie thought, teeth clenched, as Jason drew out his arms, making an even bigger production for his little audience. ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck!’ 

The worst thing of all? 

Dustin managed to reach the group before anyone else did. 

Wheeler and Emerson might have low charisma, but Dustin had a particular combination of snark and a know-it-all attitude that really pissed off authority figures. 

(And Eddie would know, given he was the reigning champion of pissing off authority figures.) 

He did, however, slide in right in time to hear the priest respond. 

“I don’t care for your tone, young man. Jason here has some concerns over your club and I have to agree, what I see is quite,” The guy paused, jowls jiggling as he looked over their table, clearly eyeing Hellfire’s logo. “alarming.” 

 At least wasn’t an actual sermon.

Not yet, anyway. 

Eddie came up right inbetween Mike and Dustin, intending to make himself out to be the new target for all to aim at.  

There was an art to making yourself the sole owner of everything evil in this world, and Eddie had learned it all, trial by fire style.  

“Carver is full of--” Mike snarled, and thankfully was cut off—not by Eddie, or the hand he’d just clamped onto Mike’s shoulder—but by Harrington. 

Who sauntered right up as if he was joining everyone for dinner, and not walking into a circus act.

“Hello Father.” Harrington said, voice warm and welcoming.  “Would you like some of our cookies? We have a sample platter.” 

“Oh--Steve!” The priest blinked, actually blinked, that he was startled to see Hawkins’ golden boy appear next to him. “I’m sorry but no. I’m ah, here for other reasons.”

He paused so long it was nearly comedic before tentatively asking; “ Are you with this table?”

Like the guy couldn’t see the same Hellfire logo plastered across Steve’s ridiculous jock chest. 

Eddie opened his mouth to give a resounding no, Hellfire shirt or not--when Mike of all people put an elbow into his side. 

As if Eddie was the one who needed to be silenced.  

“I am.” Steve put an arm down on Dustin’s shoulder, squeezing it in a way that looked like fond encouragement (but what Eddie was pretty sure was actually a warning in the same way the hand on Mike’s shoulder was.) “I came to help out my friends and fundraise.”

Then he beamed, face lighting up with the full Harrington charm, giga watt smile and all. 

Now the priest just looked awkward. 

“You’ve apparently been fundraising for what I have been told is a…Satanist Club?” 

It was hilariously delicate, how the priest said it. Like now that a respectable member of Hawkins was here, he had to be more careful about what words he used. 

Eddie would have interrupted then.  Retake the reins and do what he did best in terms of making everyone forget about everything but him--except Carver was rounding on Harrington, and well.

He was always a fan of the rich eating each other. 

“You cannot seriously be with these--these,” Jason’s eyes darted to between him and the priest, before physically reigning himself in. “hooligans, Harrington!” 

“I’m sorry.” Harrington said, and whatever Jason had been expecting to get hit with, it wasn’t “good ol’ boy” southern charm. 

He blinked, taking on the air of a kicked puppy who couldn’t understand why someone would be so mean as he glanced around the crowd.  “I think I'm a little lost here.” 

Jason clearly wasn’t prepared for that either. 

“What?” 

“This table is for a storytelling and math game.” Steve spoke slowly, in the same way one explained things to a toddler. “You have to roll dice and add the numbers up to do anything."

“It’s not a game, Steve.” Jason spat back. “It’s an evil trick made to tempt the susceptible minds of children to the dark arts!” 

Personally, Eddie was amazed Carver even knew the word susceptible let alone be able to properly use it in a sentence. 

(He tried to open his mouth to say so, and once again got elbowed, this time by Gareth. 

The look he gave his younger friend could have melted steel beams.)

“That’s what this is about?” Harrington slid his arm off Dustin's shoulders, leaning back to look at the priest and the people around them in a show of blatant disbelief. “You think the nerd club is related to satanism?” 

It was Eddie's own tactic--arguing that D&D was “using academic skills” and “making math fun!" not that Hellfire had ever been successful using it.

Of course, they weren’t Hawkins golden boy either. 

Jason sputtered. 

“It has monsters and--demons in it! It makes children do spells and sign over their souls!” He flung a hand out, for the first time acknowledging Eddie by pointing at his shirt. “Just look at that! It’s awful!”  

"Hey." Eddie said, hand going over his very well drawn dragon.

“I once had to stop an argument about how much weight a wooden bridge could hold.” Steve countered, hands moving to his hips. “I only got them to stop by agreeing to take the kids to a library so they could look it up.” 

He squinted, in Carver's direction, deadpanning; "I take it you think the library is evil now too?"

“The name of the club is called Hellfire!” Jason shrieked, sounding more like an angry teakettle than anything dangerous. 

“Look I get that it sounds scary,” Steve said, the tiniest hint of pity entering his voice, “but they’re trying to make math problems and English essays sound cool. It’s the same reason Father John here calls our annual haunted house Hell House, isn’t it? So people go in it to begin with?” 

Harrington turned to look expectantly at the priest, and Eddie had to admit it was an excellent way to both pander to the guy and sound like Jason was making a big deal out of nothing. 

Perhaps, he’d stay quiet after all. 

(Even if it went against Eddie’s entire being to do so.)

“Well, yes, but--” Father John had clearly picked up on the fact he was losing this particular argument, but plowed forward regardless. “Those activities are supervised by the church…” 

“This is evil Harrington, and you should know better to promote it.” Carver tacked on, like this was a two bit comedy sketch. 

“When I played it we just saved some poor town from a bad guy who set it on fire.” Steve rolled his eyes. 

Then he leaned in, converting his voice into a stage whisper that somehow projected it, giving the impression that everyone around them was listening in on a secret. 

“The doctor said it was a really good way for Dustin and Erica to process the mall fire. He’s a specialist--my mother managed to convince him to fly down to help all the kids who got hurt.” 

Eddie was 100% sure that was total bullshit, but the mere mention of Harrington's mother had seemed to have an effect on the people around them.

 Like Steve had invoked the name of an old but beloved God, not always benevolent but definitely memorable. 

“She’s always been a champion of helping when you can.” Steve spoke to the priest, like they were having a conversation between just the two of them. “Encouraging people to volunteer and helping fundraise.”

“She has been." Father John said, in the kind of instant way one does when they don’t want to offend a very large donor.  "Tell your mom I look forward to her coming back from her--ah, trip.”

 With an awkward glance to the table, he added; “...I suppose I don’t see how math comes into play?” 

“Oh it’s right from the start. Hey Jeff, come here, show Father John how you have to do a bunch of calculations and stuff to make a character.” 

“Ah--right.” Jeff sprung to life, moving around the table to Steve.

“We uh, we start with this character sheet…” 

“Eddie Munson runs the club.” Jason interrupted, before Steve could get Jeff to going.

“He’s right there! Does he look like this whole thing is just an innocent board game?” 

This was a last ditch effort, and it was clear by the chattering that had started circling amongst their audience that everyone knew it. 

Unfortunately, it was a good one.

This was the downside to making yourself a target. Once a bad guy, always a bad guy--particularly in the eyes of the PTA. 

“Munson?” Harrington dismissed with a scoff. “He’s harmless.” 

Which was news to most of their audience given the amount of attention Eddie suddenly had on him, but it was fine. 

He was used to the disapproving stares and glares, and gave his best award winning smile in response. 

Jason looked at Harrington like he’d lost his mind. 

“He has skulls on his fingers for fucks sake!” 

“Jason.” Steve admonished, in a perfect mimic of an upset southern mother. “Language.” 

Carver's jaw dropped, face purpling in rage.

Steve ignored him, turning back to the Priest. “I don’t know what's gotten into him but I’m sorry Jason’s wasted your time, Father.” 

“Munson is a drug dealer!” And ah, here came the Hail Mary move, Carver's one and only trump card.

“We all know he’s a drug dealer, and he’s using this--this game, to give drugs to kids!”

“Really?” Steve turned. “Lucas, what happens if I ever catch you smoking weed?” 

Lucas answered instantly. “You’re going to make us run laps at five in the morning.” 

“For a month.” Dustin added, with an exaggerated shudder. 

It would have been too much--except his disgusted face sold it. 

“Eddie’s just loud and wants to be a rockstar.” Harrington said, like this he was harmless.

No one on Steve's side of things had ever thought of Eddie as harmless.

 “I’ve babysat these kids for years and Eddie was a huge help in making sure no one in high school messed with them.” He continued, like they were some sort of team or friends even.

(Like Eddie hadn't been at Harrington's throat all day, pissy and defensive.)

“We have a real bullying problem right now. Funny enough,” Steve’s nailed Jason with a look, “I keep hearing that it’s coming from the basketball team.” 

“What are you implying?” Jason asked darkly. 

“Just that it’s funny how nobody got caught fighting when I was team captain.” Steve returned. 

God the man was such a bitch. Eddie kind of wanted to kiss him a little. 

Okay, more than a little.

“I get you have some kind of beef with Munson, but let’s not drag a bunch of people into it. Especially not Father John.” Harrington was playing up to the mothers around him now, dismissing Carver entirely as he did so. “He’s a busy guy.”

“Very.” Said Father nodded solemnly. “I do not appreciate being pulled into a high school squabble.” 

Jason’s mouth swam through shapes, words stuttering out of it. “This isn’t, thats not--”

“We can talk about this after church on Sunday.” Father John interrupted, the finishing blow to Carver's little show.

“You came all this way, at least have a cookie on us.” Steve said with an appeasing tone, reaching an arm back behind him.

Quick on the uptake, a cookie appeared in his hands. 

He offered it out to the priest, who took it happily.

"Okay, who wants cake!?” He called, in a clear and obvious dismissal of Jason. 

Who stood there, like he couldn’t believe what just happened. 

His eyes slid to Eddie's, fists clenched tightly at his side, hatred pouring off him so strongly one could almost taste it.

Eddie winked at him.

(Unknown to him at the time, Jason had also looked at Steve--and Steve would wink too.)

xXx

Steve Harrington, who Eddie had been an absolute ass all day too, had looked Jason Carver, a Priest and half of Hawkins in the eye and announced that he, Eddie Munson, was a good person at heart.

It made Eddie want to vomit a little when he thought about it too hard.

“I know this is horrible timing,” Robin said, sidling up as the crowd finally dispersed, “but I really, really need to talk to you.” 

Eddie turned, head full of far too many thoughts and ready to tell her such, when he caught sight of Buckley's face. 

Was reminded, by the sheer nervous, ‘horse about to bolt’ vibe, that he owed it to Robin as a fellow queer not to be a dick about her accidental outing.

Even if all he wanted was to preen in the wake of Carver’s defeat. 

‘See Mothers of Hawkins? Your own golden boy just gave me his stamp of approval!’ 

A mental image that immediately changed to Steve Harrington’s name stamped on his ass and dammit he had to get ahold of his thoughts before he fell down rabbit holes like this--!

“Back there, at the stairs,” Robin started, voice dropping low, and Eddie didn’t miss the way her eyes kept seeking out Steve, like he was some kind of safety net--which he probably was. “What um--what did you hear?” 

It took a lot of guts to come talk to him, knowing what he'd overheard--particularly given they'd just fended off the church.

He'd never exactly underestimated Robin Buckley, but then, he'd never expected this level of badassery from her either.

“Eddie?” Robin prodded again, chewing hard on her bottom lip.

“Sorry, distracted.” Eddie waved a hand behind himself. “Not everyday the King decides to defend your honor to a priest.” 

With a little bow, he offered his elbow out to her, a clear signal to take it and let him escort them away from unwanted ears.

In a show of bravery, Robin took his elbow and let him lead, even as she frowned up at him, looking like she was about to say something.

Likely it was in defense of Harrington, but Eddie had been interrupted enough for one day. 

“You and His Highness over there really should be more aware of your surroundings." He started, voice low. "Lucky for you, you’re among friends. You and Dorothy both.” 

He reached a foot out, tapping Robin’s own. 

Right on top of a doodled pair of tits. 

Robin let go of his elbow and glanced down, before flinging her head right back up, panicked.

"I--"

“If you’d like I can pretend I never heard a thing.” Eddie interrupted, dropping his voice into the gentler tone he reserved for delicate conversations.

People were always surprised by the lengths he went to make sure someone was comfortable--but then, people also forgot how often Eddie heard things he shouldn’t. 

People didn't take drugs just for fun, after all.

“Or I can offer a friend of a friend discount on my wares,” He put a finger to his lips, miming smoking with one hand while he opened his vest with the other to flash the little pink triangle pin that sat inside, announcing his own sexualities status.

“and we can, say, discuss the differences between radical and social feminism while admiring the fine forms of Susan Sarandon and Peter Hinwood?”

The smile he gets is two parts relief, one part genuine delight and Eddie grinned right back at her, flicking his vest closed.

“I did not take you for a Peter Hinwood type.” Robin said it hesitantly, still waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Thought you’d find Tim Curry’s…acting skills, more to your taste.”

“In the case of Rocky Horror? I am Tim Curry.” He announced, loud and proud (well for this kind of conversation at least.) 

He was rewarded by the tension finally melting out of Robin’s shoulders. 

(This, Eddie reflected, is what he should have been doing this entire time, instead of getting tied up in knots over Harrington and turning into some kind of non-conformist tyrant.) 

“Do you actually know the differences between social and radical feminism?” Robin challenged, braver now, and Eddie knew then and there he’d been successful in assuring her her secret was safe.

That she was safe, with him.

“Guess you’ll have to find out.” Eddie said, giving a playful nudge to her shoulder. 

Baths in the laugh he gets for it, and for the first time today feels like he’s finally on firmer ground.

They chatted for a moment longer, making a loop on the very outskirts of the gym, voices hushed when it came to things that small town ears shouldn’t overhear--but of course, Robin couldn’t just leave things at that.

“Hey Eddie?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Can you do me one more favor?”

“Anything for you, my favorite feminist.” 

For the first time since this conversation started, Robin managed to sound firm. 

“Stop referring to Steve as a King.” 

She rushed ahead, anticipating being cut off, and thus Eddie is hit with a wave of words, none of which he’d ever thought he’d hear in relation to thee Steven Harrington. 

“He’s working really hard to get away from it, the whole King thing and how he used to be. I don’t know what all he did to like--you guys,” She flapped her hand in the general direction of Hellfire, “and I know he wasn’t an innocent bystander, but I kinda realized over the summer that I blamed him for a lot of things that were in my own head, and that he wasn’t--he was never as bad as I thought he was and he's still trying to make it up to me anyway.”

Robin trailed off, seeming to try and piece out what she wanted to say next without giving away the whole farm. “It’s not some act, Eddie. Steve’s really trying to change.” 

Which yeah.

Eddie could see that, now. 

Maybe not before but…

“Okay.” He said, after a long, long moment. “No more King Steve. Got it.”

The smile he got for that also felt like a victory, even if it was wrenched out of him.

xXx

Two hours and a dispersed crowd later, Eddie found himself once again stuck in his own head. 

The facts were thus:

Steve Harrington was a good dude. 

He used his good dude-ness to save Hellfire from a literal priest, right smack in front of God and Principal Hairy Ass both

All of Hellfire actually liked him 

According to Robin Buckley, Steve was entirely fine with “all us triangles” quote/unquote 

And;

Eddie was jealous.

He was self aware enough to admit it, alongside the fact that Jason Carver aside, maybe Eddie had been the villain today instead of Steve. 

Which meant he not only owed Harrington an apology, but he owed it to both of them to work out his own stupid shit before it blew up in his face and cost him all his friends.

(He’d have called this move “pulling a Harrington” before today but now that feels mean, which Eddie supposes signals he’s grown as a person or some shit.) 

So now he sits on Steve’s beemer, knowing the move will likely antagonize the ex-jock but equally knowing he’s planning on jumping off the car the second the guy comes near, and that the move itself will get Harrington to listen to him the second he’s done supervising whatever Hellfire’s youngest is doing.

(Eating leftover cookies like the older members are as they finish packing up, Eddie assumes.) 

Ducking out like he did had allowed him some much needed time to think things though. Figure out what he was going to say--without an audience present.

He’d apologize publicly if he had to. But being vulnerable is hard, and given the way his friends had been acting, Steve isn’t the only person he owes an apology to. 

For now, he’ll begin here, without an audience. 

Eddie doesn’t get to plan for long--only gets to rehearse a few lines of his little spiel when a pointed cough jerks him back to reality. 

There stands Steve Harrington, a fat wad of cash in one hand and a box in the other.

Like a man sent to the gallows, Eddie leapt off the beemer, squaring his shoulders. 

He could do this.

 Apologize-- and mean it. 

Not that Steve gave him the chance to. 

“The guys told me to give this to you.” He said, holding out the cash. Then he took a breath, like he was preparing to go to war, and added; 

“I know you weren’t happy with me being here, and you probably don’t want this, but Dustin said you really liked cinnamon brownies so I made you some.” 

The box was now held out alongside the cash, proof that Steve had tried to start this whole thing off on the right foot. 

Eddie stared at it, then at Steve. 

Felt the guilt chew on his gut just that much harder.

“I have been shitty to you all day. Why are you giving me this?” 

Steve shrugged. 

“To be fair I didn’t exactly make it easy on you either. You said jump and I said ‘watch this’.” Steve laughed, a small, almost self depicting sound. “Dustin’s been on my ass all day about it.” 

Of course he had. 

“Mine too.” Eddie admitted. “It's his tone, I swear."

“Yes!” 

Carefully, Eddie reached out, accepted the box and the cash. 

“Thanks by the way. For the stuff you said about me earlier.” 

Steve grimaced, cheeks tinting a (lickable) red. “Yeah sorry, I--”

“No not--not that stuff.’ Eddie said, mentally hauling his thoughts back in line, fiddling with the cash. “The stuff about being a good person. No one’s uh. Said that. About me.”

Not except for Wayne, but Harrington wouldn’t know nor care about Eddie’s uncle. 

Steve shrugged. “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.” 

He’d argue that, except something was off. 

It took Eddie a moment to place it--that the wad Steve handed over was way too big for the little bake sale they’d just attended. 

He tucked the box under his arm, quickly counting the stack with a smoothness only drug dealers and bank tellers could manage.

“It’s all there, I promise.” Steve told him simply, but without judgment. He sounded like he expected this and that didn’t sit right with Eddie either. 

Not that he could do anything about it because he’d just counted up didn’t make any sense. 

Not trusting himself, Eddie stacked it back together, before counting it all again. He was faster this time, trying to figure out among all the ones, fives and tens how the hell they had managed to sell that many cookies. 

Particularly considering the most expensive thing was one of the cakes and he’d watched Steve sell it for fifteen dollars. 

So why were there three twenties sitting in the stack? 

“Either you up charged the absolute shit out of someone’s mom, in which case I congratulate you, you sneaky devil,” Eddie said slowly, “Or you put extra cash in here.” 

Steve blushed properly this time. 

Eddie zeroed in on his face, watching as Steve rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, trying to pull his charming mask into place.

He didn't quite manage it.

Hadn’t even been wearing it before now, Eddie realized suddenly.

This entire conversation Steve had a realness to him that Eddie had never really seen. 

Had maybe not wanted to see, from someone like Harrington. 

“I don’t know what you mean.” Steve protested, like a kid who’d been caught with a hand in the cookie jar. “That’s what we charged.” 

“You are a terrible liar.” Eddie accused, hand trembling. “We can’t take this, man. This is a almost two hundred dollars.” 

Way more than what they’d need for Gen Con. It was enough to get them two fuckin’ hotel rooms! 

“If It helps any, I didn’t do it for you.” Steve’s blush slid into something more genuine, as he nodded his head to where Hellfire was spilling out of the gym doors, laughing and shoving one another. 

“They deserve to have a good trip.” He added, eyes fond as he watched Dustin and Mike squabble over how to fold Hellfire's banner.

It made his whole face soften, the harsh features of his jaw turning into something that was so adorable Eddie wanted to bite through it. 

“Do you want to come?” Someone said, and it took both Steve’s startled look and a second long pause for Eddie to realize that someone was him.

Stupid, stupid, stupid-! 

“To the convention?” Steve asked, looking doubtful. 

Pity that Eddie was already nodding, like his brain and his body were at a total disconnect.

Maybe aliens had finally taken him over. Or a demon. 

(Demonic possession could frankly explain a lot about today, Carver’s weird little power play aside.)

“Dude you don’t even like me.” Steve said. “Why would you want me to come along?” 

“I dunno Harrington. All of Hellfire seemed to like you, and not just my freshman.” Eddie countered easily, gliding right over the fact that he himself did like Steve.

Way more than he should, and that right there was half of Eddie’s problem. 

“They have pretty good taste in things.” He waived a hand, as if this wasn’t a complete 180 from how he’d acted all day. “I could understand if you didn’t want to slum it with us nerds though.”

Steve rolled his eyes. 

“I’ve been slumming it all day with you nerds, if you haven’t noticed.” 

“Yeah? What’s your verdict on us?” 

“Not as bad as you could be.” 

Eddie tilted his head back and laughed. “High praise from the King!”

He felt bad immediately after, and made himself promise to be more mindful about Robin’s ask--but  thankfully Harrington didn’t take it hard. 

(Habits, Eddie knew, were hard to change.

Took a lot of careful attention to change. 

He had a long road ahead of him, and he hoped this little olive branch put him a few miles down it.) 

Steve awarded him a small smile. “I haven’t been the King for a long while, man. But if you guys have an opening, I think I wouldn’t mind being a knight or whatever.” 

“Ste-eeeve Harrington, defender of the realm.” Eddie nodded once, decisively. “I can see it.”

He tucked away the cash, and thus missed how Steve looked weirdly contemplative at that. 

Raised his head and stuck out a hand. 

Tentatively, Steve took it. 

“Welcome to the club, Harrington. We meet on Fridays. Bring snacks.” 

“Cookies okay?”

“Going by Gareth’s judgment, they’re more than okay.”

Eddie smiled and Steve smiled back, and God how he hated how fucking cute Harrington’s face was. 

Particularly since he now got to think of the guy as “Steve” without feeling weird about it. 

As in his possible, potential, friend Steve.

What a fucking trip that was. 

“Oh, and Steve?” He called, the thought hitting him as Steve turned to welcome the group making their way to the beemer.

Steve had let his hand fall, turning to open the front door of the Beemer with a cocked eyebrow.

Eddie flicked a finger out, lightly tapping the Hellfire logo. “Tell Lucas I’ll get him another shirt. That one’s all yours, big boy.” 

If there was a pink hue to Harrington’s cheeks, he was blaming sunburn. 

(Two months, six days, and one meddlesome asshole named Henderson later, and Eddie would find out that Steve had in fact, been blushing.

He’d be furious at Dustin’s involvement, if it hadn’t directly led to Eddie finding out Steve’s blush did in fact go down his chest.

And his happy trail.

And his--

Well.

Men do not kiss and tell. 

Not to fucking freshmen, anyway.) 

THERE IS A GEN CON, "THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED BECAUSE DUSTIN IS A MEDDLESOME SHIT" BONUS BUT it's on A03 cause it was long enough to be its own post and I wasn't gonna add it to this one. You can read it here LINK

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Tasmanian Giant Crab (Pseudocarcinus gigas)

(Photo in Public Domain)

Conservation Status- Unlisted

Habitat- Coastal Southern Australia

Size (Weight/Length)- 17 kg; 46 cm width

Diet- Carrion; Crustaceans; Starfish

Cool Facts- Being one of the heaviest species of crab, the Tasmanian giant crab is the apex of its environment. These crabs live a slow life due to their size. They eat as many bottom dwellers as they can, helping to build up their extremely thick carapace. Despite being relatively slow, they can slam their giant claws with enough force to crack open mussels and other crabs. Once every nine years, Tasmanian giant crabs molt their carapace and can be threatened by large species of sharks and seals. People see the crabs as a delicacy, but their harvest is carefully regulated and only specific sizes can be gathered.  When a crab has enough strength to snip off a finger like a carrot, I salute anyone who gets within pinching distance.

Rating- 12/10 (Carcinization at its finest.)

[lxmelle]

Gojo’s letters & the implied parting message (Part 2)

I came across a view on Twitter (now X) that was interesting that I probably would have never thought of myself. While I may not agree with it 100% on its own, I can totally see the value in it and I wanted to share it here, seeing as how others may appreciate the perspective too. I’ve added my own thoughts which you’re welcome to read… Then you can make up your own mind about your personal interpretation 😊

So the sentiment is as follows:

At the end of HI, past-Gojo casually went up to Megumi to tell him that he killed his father, showing us that he is a little tactless. But, upon being told what Megumi wanted, he respected that Megumi didn’t want to know and accepted this for 10 years.

Despite that; however, we can infer from things we have been shown that he has always wanted Megumi to know. He was probably waiting for a good time. (As we know, Gojo doesn’t really impose his view onto others.)

Knowing there had to be a time where this message was delivered, he prepped the letter that would only be delivered if he (Gojo) died.

And what better timing & purpose, if it could help Megumi absolve any guilt he might have over (his body) killing Gojo? (Because him being dead meant Megumi likely killed him, thanks to Sukuna.)

According to the person whose Twt I read, they felt that Megumi’s laughing reaction was due to Gojo’s uncharacteristic consideration for him.

In other words, he was relaying it after he died to Megumi as a way to say: You got this cuz I’m dead. “And if you think your father is out there somewhere, he isn’t. It was me who killed him. Soz!” So don’t feel guilty.

Hm. Well, this was kind of echoed in at least another tweet and there were a few who made it out as if this was a fitting interpretation.

I also gathered from my last post on this subject, that Megumi was chuckling out of fondness, like “Geez, that’s so typical of you, sensei.”

But I do personally think it’s important to underline the fact that Gojo has always put in the effort to understand people even if he struggled to show it, or showed it clumsily. (Just like, “have you had too much somen?” - as said to Geto, back in the day.) So maybe it seemed uncharacteristic to Megumi, but I hope as a reader, we understand that Gojo had his own ways of being kind.

After all who can blame him if he didn’t quite fully understand what it meant to have blood family, being separated from his own? Born as an anomaly - a mutant amongst mutants. Who felt like others (flowers) couldn’t never comprehend a creature — and who could, unless they were bestowed with some monstrous skill themselves? (Like Geto, and Gojo had hoped, Sukuna... but the latter clung onto his stubborn self-protective belief of not needing “love” (compassion) until the very end, choosing to die instead of taking Yuji’s hand - another post on this another time).

And Gojo, after having been told last words from Toji and Geto about the importance of family, he may have gathered that it was better for Nobara and Megumi to know, than to have it concealed from them. Hence, the letters.

Know your family. Then decide who your family really is.

My own thoughts about the theory are as such: Gojo may have really wanted to tell Megumi that it was he who killed his father, because this was the only person he killed without a reason. (…that we know of: Gojo was canonically shown to have only killed two humans - Toji & Geto).

After Geto left, the parting message was: “don’t kill anyone other than me” - in other words, don’t do what I did, because that will make you lonely. If you need to kill, kill if there is a clear purpose or meaning in it.

This was his last lesson delivered to Gojo. We know his parting phrase was imbued with meaning due to everything we saw in HI and the draft words that Gege released from chapter (78) - important enough to make it to the exhibition and Gojo’s JUMP GIGA Character Book.

Geto played a significant role in him smartening up, how to connect with others, how to empathise with people, to think about what his responsibilities were as someone with strength.

So Gojo telling Megumi this was almost as if to say: you can stop wondering about him now; you weren’t left behind. I killed your father. You don’t have to feel responsible for it because there was meaning in it too.

In words Gojo might use: I killed him, you killed me. We’re even!

I guess it’s not only because Megumi couldn’t help it being Sukuna’s vessel. But also that he avenged his father’s death. All of Megumi’s thoughts relating to his father and Tsumiki as above: Retribution, karma, discipline… fairness and Megumi deserved happiness too.

And he chose to live again, starting by living for Yuji. A new purpose… he didn’t want Yuji to be lonely.

A loneliness I think he knew all too well.

He can add on more family after that. Nobara. Etc.

That’s it I guess. Thoughts?

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hello, do you know of any ttrpgs where the players fight titans (or any other really BIG things), ideally in a fantasy setting? I've come across two kickstarters that looked really promising but both seem to have dropped off, Reach of Titan and Relic :(

I'm looking more for a Shadow of Colossus-style game than Monster Hunter, if possible.

Thanks!

Theme: Shadow of the Colossus

Hello friend, I have three games that I think you might like, and one game that’s inspired by Shadow of the Colossus, but has a different goal.

Titanomachy: Legacy 2nd Edition Quickstart, by UFO Press.

Welcome to Hekaton - a jungle-covered planet where stranded colonists hide from titanic monsters.In Titanomachy, the players are survivors living among the ruins of a colony devastated when colossal titans surged out of the planet's jungle and tore apart their space elevator and advanced infrastructure. Generations down the line, the titan Gigas has just fallen after a monumental battle that devastated your families. Now you know the titans can be stopped, but your families are weaker than ever. How will you build a world where you're safe?

This document gives you a jumping-on point for Legacy: Life Among the Ruins Second Edition, letting you try out the core game rules and pre-generated player options before breaking open the full suite of options available in the main book.

As a standalone game, you don’t need to have Behemoths in Legacy, but if you want a world in which they exist, all you need to do is ensure one person is playing The Order of the Titan.

In Titanomachy, you’ll get a taste of what kind of game that might be, and the online version of it is free! Legacy is a game primarily about surviving the end of the world and the way humanity rebuilds over time, so adding in the Titans is a way of providing a major obstacle to the goals of all of the factions involved. If you want a game that places the Titans as simply a piece in a larger story, this might be the game for you.

Facing The Titan, by Nicolas “Gulix” Ronvel.

“We are the Company. Hunters, warriors, mages, scholars, nobles, barbarians, we have been brought together for one purpose: to put an end to the reign of the Titan. Let us get to know each other and rediscover each other after all these years. Tonight, let us share our experiences so that tomorrow those who survive can tell the stories of those who fall.”

Facing the Titan is a GM-less, zero-prep roleplaying game, for one-shots games of about 3 hours. It has been designed and playtested for groups of 3 to 5 people. A solo mode is also available. You will play the Company, a group of heroes whose fate is to face the colossal Titan. And to destroy it!

This game divides game play into five distinct phases, starting with the Companions phase, which introduces your characters, and ends in the Clash phase, which is your Companions’ battle with the Titan. The game has a number of various Titans available for you to fight, with six basic Titans and ten extra Titans that were written after this game was Kickstarted. All of the basic titans look to be from a fantasy setting, but some of the extra Titans may allow you to change the setting of the game!

Trail of the Behemoth, by Dan Felder & Seamus Allen.

The world is filled with monsters that tower over the hills; beings that some call gods… And they want to eat you for breakfast.

As a Hunter, you stand between the monsters and humanity. Each hunt you’ll gather clues about your foe’s weaknesses, then engage in a climactic battle against the colossal beast, a monster so big that its body becomes the terrain on which the Hunters climb. 

This is a game that is designed to run quickly, with simple rules and easy monster creation. The game comes with five adventures that can be combined for a short campaign, or can be used as standalone one-shots. The combat is designed with a push-you-luck mindset, allowing you take more actions as long as you’re able to accept the risk. Once you kill the monster, your characters can upgrade their gear using pieces of the titan’s corpse to strengthen your weapons or armor.

Autumn of Giants, by Melody Saturn.

Autumn of Giants is a collaborative storytelling game of a group of humans guiding and protecting a Colossus on the way to rest and shelter for the Winter. It tells of a desolate and gentle journey through lonely and beautiful places. And of a small group of people who will do everything they can to protect a friend.

Move from location to location, describing the broad strokes of each environment from the colossus's perspective as a group and then zooming in on individual scenes from the humans' points of view.

Describe how your characters change over the course of the journey, using the shift, carry, and shed options. Face daunting Perils or find respite in Interludes with group scenes between locations.

This game has a much calmer vibe to it, being about shepherding a Colossus rather than fighting it. The locations given are very evocative, which I think would be very helpful when it comes to helping the players describe each place they visit. The game is about change; your characters at the start will not be the same by the time they reach The Sleeping Grounds. This game is also GM-less, which might make it a good fit for a table in which everyone wants the same role.

I’d Also Recommend…

The Wildsea, by Felix Isaacs, which has large creatures to fight but is more about adventuring on the Verdant Ocean.

Hellwhalers, by BrewistTabletopGames, a game of nautical horror inspired by Moby Dick.

[deathlessathanasia]

In terms of her abilities, do you think Hera’s power is on par with Poseidon and Hades? (This question is prompted from seeing a claim that “she arguably can” from a reddit post detailing most of Hera’s abilities found here and here )

Honestly I've always found it very difficult to compare the gods (let alone rank them) in terms of power level since their power can manifest in such different ways and their abilities can vary from source to source. Take the Gigantomachy for example, Hera is shown to defeat her opponent in some artistic representations and I saw that used as an argument for how powerful she is since she allegedly did it with no help, but she is also the only god to be overpowered by a Gigas (Porphyrion) and needs to be helped by Zeus and Herakles. I don't believe that makes her weak, of course, just pointing out that the extent of a god's power can depend on what the narrative needs. Another example: sometimes she can inflict madness by herself, but in Euripides' Herakles she needs Lyssa to do it.

Thanks for showing me those threads, it's nice to see so many excerpts collected. And there are more parts too! She is definitely more powerful than many people who reduce her to only the marriage goddess and scorned wife of Zeus give her credit for.

Still, I'd hesitate to call Hera the most powerful Olympian after Zeus as this person does. Quite sure that if one gathered all evidence regarding the power and abilities of Athena, Apollo or Poseidon to name the other gods I consider to be the strongest contenders for that title they would appear just as impressive. Like sure, Apollo and Athena respect Hera, obey her and would never try to harm her, but is that because she is more powerful than them or because she is their father's wife/queen and their elder? And sure, in one version of their rivalry over Argos Hera makes Poseidon take back the punishment he inflicted on the land, but in the variants where he dries out the rivers (including the father of Hera's nurses) instead of flooding the place, she seems unable to fix it.

On par with Hades and Poseidon though? Quite possible. I do consider Poseidon more powerful than Hades, mostly based on the scene in the Iliad where Hades is terrified when Poseidon enters into battle, and I would not find it implausible for Hera to be more powerful than Hades as well (she never asks him for permission or assistance when making use of Underworld creatures) but then, Hades doesn't get much chance to show his power and abilities in the myths so maybe I'm underestimating him.

[dumbawesomev69]

Arc Giga

Dorm living room

Team rwby were waiting with worried expressions as Ruby was pacing back and forth, yang was leaning against the wall tapping her foot impatient while crossing her arms, blake while being the quiet one she sat in silence but her bow twitch every minute looking around waiting for something to happen and Weiss finally spoke her mind.

Weiss: Oh for the brother's sake! What's taking them so long it's been three hours!

Blake: two hours.

Weiss: whatever! They should be here by now!

Suddenly the door opened revealing their sister team however one of the members wasn't with them.

Team rwby gather around them asking questions about one person. "How's jaune!?"

Pyrrha: he's fine, they managed to sedate him and move him to the basement and lock the entrance.

Lie ren: They also contacted his sister who notified their parents, said they'll send the medicine for jaune but won't be here until a few weeks is for now jaune is on his own.

You may be wondering what is going on well let me explain you see our favorite lovable blonde boy jaune is a faunus but not just any faunus but a prehistoric one called a dino faunus thought to be extinct or fairy tales.

But jaune is one, a Giganotosaurus meaning he's much larger than other faunus on the size of an elephant faunus (just to give you an idea he dwarfs over yatsuhashi and elm) however he's not only he's a rare he's also an apex on like an alpha, apex's are extremely more powerful and aggressive. For jaune case he gets it from his great, great, great, great, great, gre-uh skip a generation, great-grandmother who had a rage semblance when she takes enough damage she goes crazy and it didn't help for the fact that she was a dino faunus but a Brachiosaurus.

Because of that jaune developed a rage mode where he will lose control and hurt/kill everything especially when he was a kid occasional he'll wander in the forest and will be later found surrounded by destroy trees, dead grim or the occasional bandits of course he managed to control it however like many faunus it's that time of year... Mating season where many find a mate but for jaune that's a difference because being an apex means that many faunus are afraid of him whether they are alphas or other small carnivores.

Plus jaune never thought about having kids yet but because of that jaune went through the season so many times he became extremely aggressive towards everyone and everything plus his rage Jaune with a walking bomb.

Team rwby and team npr were all saddened as Ruby spoke up. "There's got to be a way to help him."

Pyrrha: the only way to help him if he takes his special suppressed pills or mate with him but the second option is extremely dangerous his father explained it but his mother seem to encourage it.

Yang: Still we got to do some or poor vomit boy will stay like this forever!

Both teams were interrupted when they heard a mighty roar that shook the build, making Blake shake in fear as they all immediately knew who it was as Nora looked down whispering to herself. "Don't worry, Fearless leader We will think of something."

Late at night

Pyrrha was laying in bed as she turned over to an empty bed where jaune used to sleep but now he's sleeping in the basement as the shattered moonlight shines through the window the Spartan champion made a decision.

Sneaking out of bed carefully not to wake her two teammates up before grabbing a flashlight and head off towards the main school walking down the halls towards the basement as the door was tightly secured until Pyrrha used her semblance to unlock the door.

She opened the door slowly making loud creaking before heading down but closed the door behind her not wanting anything to see or panic. As she walks down the stairs she couldn't help but felt an odd chill run down her spine but ignore it as she makes it down the stairs.

She carefully moves around trying to find jaune, she starts to sweat in fear but thankfully there is a warm breeze to calm down. "Wait a minute, how can there be a breeze when there are no windows or any opening for air to come in unless..."

Pyrrha slowly turns around spotting two glowing eyes as she shines the light revealing shirtless jaune arc as he lets out a roar making Pyrrha screams as he launches at her. She avoided his attack as she wished to bring her shield as jaune swings at her Pyrrha again avoided it however she didn't see his large tail.

It hit her, sending her flying against the wall thankfully her Aura protected her but it still hurt as she tried to stand up but jaune pin her down as he kneel down to her growling next to her ear as he whispers in a deep voice.

"Submit"

Pyrrha did as he told her and submitted to him as a wide grin covered his face as he lifted his hand off of her and started its way down and before she knew her half pajamas were torn off as jaune chuckles as he started rubbing her pussy.

"Wow Pyrrha already wet just from me touching you, well that small fight got me thirsty."

Jaune moves down lowering his hand and opens his mouth revealing his razor sharp teeth before closing around Pyrrha crotch area and started sucking.

Pyrrha moans feeling his mouth muscles working and his tongue enters inside her feeling near her womb as Pyrrha couldn't hold it in and cum to which jaune drank all of it as he removed his mouths licking his lips as he removed his boxers revealing a tape down cup.

He ripped off making growl in pain letting loose his large dick as Pyrrha stared in complete shock as her face turned red as jaune grabbing it with one pointing it down as he uses his other hand to tear the rest of Pyrrha clothes and slowly but firmly shove it in her making Pyrrha to scream in pain.

Tears form around Pyrrha's eyes as they started streaming down but suddenly jaune started licking her face as she saw his eyes weren't glowing anymore. "Don't worry Pyrrha I got you."

Jaune spoke in his normal voice making Pyrrha smile as they didn't move for a while until she gave him the go to move. He started thrusting as he held on to her with one hand as the other played with her breast before he lends in and started sucking them care not or bite them with his teeth.

Pyrrha: Oh jaune~ go easy on them.

Jaune: I can't help it, they are so good I can't wait for them to give milk~.

Before Pyrrha can reply jaune stood up as he started thrusting even hard as he wraps his arms around her and her legs slamming deeper inside her as she moans louder feeling womb completely filled with jaune.

Jaune: I'm going to come and I won't stop filling you until you're pregnant with my kids.

Pyrrha: Then do it! Make me a mother!

With a few more thrust jaune release years of not mating finally was xom out as screams in pleasure as her stomach expanded, tongue sticking out, eyes widen as jaune roar as he held onto her not letting go until his seed spit out.

He carefully pulled Pyrrha off and a wave of his seed poured out as he lay her against the wall smirking. "Team rwby who wants to go first?"

Up on the stairs was team rwby naked as they stood their faces red they made their way down each bowing down. "We're ready for you."

It wasn't long as Ruby was moaning as jaune held her head down, ass up and slamming down on her as Ruby moaned. "Yes! Jaune fuck me! Make me your slut!" Jaune once more came filling Ruby womb with his hot seed.

Yang was on all fours as jaune mounted her, grabbing her hair pulling it as he slapped her ass. "You like this uh you blonde bitch!"

Yang moans out. "Yes! I do when you do it! Now make me a mommy too!" Jaune pulled harder as he thrusts even harder until coming inside. "Oh yeah it's so warm!" Yang moans out as jaune chuckles.

Blake was getting mating press as jaune used his tongue to mind fuck her. "This is so FUCKEN kinky!" Blake moans out as jaune pulls his tongue back. "Oh this is just the beginning." He started thrusting faster as Blake started meowing before letting out the loudest nya ever as jaune seed filled her up. "I'm going to have so many kittens!" Jaune roared out as he said. "I like to see how that monkey fucker reacts when he finds out, his crush is getting breed by me!"

Finally it was Weiss turn as jaune sat back as she started pushing herself onto him which was cute. "Weiss you sure you got this." Weiss pouted. "Of course, it's just hard to put your thing inside me." Jaune smiles as he decides to help her by grabbing one of her legs and pulling which causes her to fall on top of jaune's dick immediately tears start forming but jaune calms her down by grabbing her cheek and rubbing it. "It's alright snow queen, you're fine."

Weiss smiles, after sometime she starts moving which as jaune moans he asks. "bet Neptune wasn't as big as I am." Weiss blush. "Actually we never did it nor kiss even." Jaune smirks as he pulls Weiss in for a deep French kiss shoving his tongue down her throat making her gag before he pulls back. "Well now it's time for me to make sure that blue hair mother fucker don't get near you nor try to claim you." Jaune grabbed a hold of Weiss and started thrusting crazy as he saw Weiss small stomach bulges out as weiss face was distorted as Jaune continued before releasing filling the ice queen small womb with his Apex seed.

By the time jaune finished breed Pyrrha and team rwby he was still hard as the girls started licking his dick and sucking his balls before jaune carried them to his dorm living room where he placed them down when he heard glass shattering.

He looks to find ren standing in the kitchen frozen in fear as jaune moves over to her towering over her shaking body before rubbing her cheek. "Ren don't worry I won't hurt you." He then tore off her pajamas and picked her up then kissing her ramming his tongue down her throat.

Ren moans as she feels his tongue taking over her mouth before jaune pulls back leaving a trail of saliva as he places her on the kitchen table opening her legs. "So wet guess I won't need to warm you up anymore." With one motion he inserted himself inside of her as he starts thrusting.

Ren's eyes widened as she looked to see her bulging stomach as jaune held her sides and started moving faster making her moan as she wrapped her legs around him not letting go as he got even faster. "Jaune, oh fuck s..she's asleep in the room I want you to go ravage once your done with me."

Jaune smirks as he leads down to her. "Good idea for that I'll make sure that when you give birth, I'll impregnate you again first." Ren smiles. "Yes master please do." With a few more thrust jaune release filling ren up before slowly pulling out letting his seed pour out of her as jaune clean up the broken glass and headed towards the dorm room where he saw Nora sleeping peacefully.

He approached quietly as he got to her bed he saw she had his pumpkin Pete custom-made sweater holding it tightly which made jaune smiles as he started rubbing her ass. Nora moans a bit as jaune removes her underwear and spreads her cheeks as he shoves it in again making her moan as jaune feed until he stops as jaune slowly mount her whispering her to waking her.

"Nora wake up". Nora opened slowly when she saw jaune which got her confused. "Jaune-jaune? Is this a dream?" Jaune smirks. "Let's see." Without warning he ram straight inside her not only waking her up but causing her to moan loudly as jaune wrap a arm around her neck holding her in place before thrusting with no mercy.

Nora gritted her teeth as jaune held onto her as he was ramming her nonstop. "God Nora your pussy is so tight and warm!" Nora just moans as jaune slaps her ass. "God I can't wait for you to be pregnant with my kids I wonder if your milk will taste like pancakes and syrup." Nora continued to moan until jaune roared out as he came releasing his seed inside her making Nora to moan louder.

Jaune let's go as Nora then pushed him onto his back where she looked at him straight in the eyes before slamming herself onto him. "Fearless master I'm not done yet, in fact we are not done yet." Jaune looked towards the doorway, finding the others standing there ready for another to which he smiles.

"well then, let's get busy~"

To be continued

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

Hi! Would a Hoppip make a good pet?

A hoppip would make a great pet, but there's some really important elements of their biology that you really need to consider before adopting one.

Hoppips, to begin, are very lightweight. They are routinely blown away by the wind, floating around uncontrollably on even the lightest breeze (Crystal). In some cases, hoppips are carried by the wind as far as "the next town" (Crystal) or even a distant region: it is speculated that the populations of hoppip that make their home in the Paldea Region didn't originate there, though it is unknown where they blew in from (Scarlet). If you are caring for a hoppip, you must make sure not to let your hoppip out into open air areas, like a backyard or park, on a windy day! You never know when your little friend could disappear forever, carried away on astray breeze! When they detect coming winds, hoppips can hold fast to the ground to avoid being blown away (Silver), but even real world pets who love their homes get lost when they get curious and wander off! It is important to consider that hoppips prefer warmer weather and may try to migrate away if their environment becomes too cold! (Violet) It may not be a bad idea to adopt multiple hoppips as an extra defense measure: in the wild, hoppips gather together and join leaves in order to increase their mass and avoid floating away (Gold, Ruby/Sapphire).

Curiously, hoppips are capable of using some moves that raise some concern. They can produce an array of potent spores and powders that can induce sleep, paralysis, or even poison when one comes into contact with it! Additionally, moves like Giga Drain allow hoppips to drain large amounts of nutrients! You would need to make sure your hoppip is very well trained to avoid dangerous incidents!

Hoppips are, in general, sweet and adorable friends who would make great pets, especially for those experienced with the potential dangers of some grass-type pokémon. however, you must take special care to make sure your hoppip doesn't get blown away by the wind, which can be difficult depending on your context.

[outofcontexttokusatsu]

Podcastu Time! The gang gathers again on the eve of their 200th episode to do something a bit different, discussing the (in)famous Studio GIGA's first tokusatsu production, Kyuusei Sentai Wakusaver! Does it manage to stand on its own, or does the studio's usual catalog overshadow it?

(Disclaimer: due to the nature of the series, this episode features discussion of highly explicit topics and is very much NSFW - more than the show usually is. Listener discretion is advised)

[sburbian-sage]

so i was gonna send this in last night but i decided to wait so i could proof read it and what not and now here i am basically re writing it

so first things first im gonna need you to have an open mind please, everything im about to say is gonna sound like bullshit, utter complete fucking bullshit and even if you dont believe me its still true because sburbs bullshittery seemingly knows no fucking bounds

there is currently a fucking massive void vessel above the session, like it vanishes into the ring on both sides and im sure it keeps going, brilliant white with leaf green highlights

was gathering some grist and it just fucking teleported it or some shit cause one second it wasn't there and then it was and it scared the fuck out of me

i spoke with the plant chick last night and while i learned some things it clearly wasn't enough because what the fuck is this?!

im hiding out of derse now and its just empty, there's no more of the little Carapacians, the 5 of our lands are also gone and i can see smaller ships going around frantically scanning local space so i assume they know i happened to get off land before it was taken (how do you take an entire land?!?!)

but before i get murderharvested or some shit here's what i was able to figure out

i managed to nab one of her computers and found that their language is seemingly similar to old alternian standard but it doesn't match to English at all and is more flowy? than jagged, as well as the letters seemingly having 2-5 characters stacked on one another, far beyond my translation capabilities

when i asked the difference between sessions she just said that there was less bees (what???)

didn't have enough time to see any structural changes from normal, other than more plants and things being kinda taller

when i asked culture questions she just laughed, called me a "curious cutie" (not sure i like how i feel about that) and said id learn soon which like FUCK ME was that a red flag apparently

not sure what to do anymore, im a rogue of void for fucks sake and even turning into nothing isn't enough to shake them, they find me within an hour and i have to flee, managed to pull off that teleportation trick that the other poster talked about but even that doesn't shake them, sending this out and then ill start moving again

ill keep in touch if i stay alive

I WAS JOKING. I WAS MAKING A JOKE WHEN I SUGGESTED SHE WAS TRYING TO CONTACT HOME BASE TO BOMB YOU GUYS TO OBLIVION AND DO GIGA-SPACE-COLONIALISM. I WASN'T MAKING A PREDICTION. FUCK.

And you are right, this does kinda sound like bullshit. There's mild precedent here, in that it is technically theoretically possible that before Entry happens and SBURB fucks an entire planet in half, that some of said homeworld's inhabitants might have boarded a ship, went into space, and managed to enter the Furthest Ring. I mean, that would require incredible foresight, highly advanced technology, surviving long enough despite the fact that the game is literally designed to kill non-players in the most ass-pull deus ex machina fashion possible, and that it is virtually impossible to enter the Furthest Ring without a Bargain. So it's a bit like sending Frosty the Snowman to the Sahara Desert to win a gladiator competition, and once he wins he has to do round two against a flamethrower squadron. Which is to say, I'll eat my own legs before I believe that you're being invaded by The Imperium of Man meets the fucking Vegandon from Johnny Test. Among the thousands of other severe questions this raises.

But on the off-chance that this isn't just a prank, here's my equally low-effort advice.

Running may not be able to solve your problems. You are a Rogue of Void who can teleport. This makes you THE most qualified person to break into their ship and sabotage the engines so shit explodes.

Running may be able to solve your problems. If you survive long enough, SBURB might suddenly remember that it's supposed to kill non-SBURB non-player entities, and so the flowery ground troopers might start tripping and shooting themselves in the fall, or the ship explodes anyway.

Threaten to Scratch the Session to get them to back off. It's basically the mother of all "I'm taking you all with me" threats, considering it will rewrite reality.

Actually, they might not know enough about the Scratch for that to intimidate them. Scratch anyway. Fuck these guys, they'll never suspect it and an alt-universe version of you gets the last laugh.

If they corner you, start coughing on them. If you win re-enacting the ending of War of the Worlds, that would be incredibly funny.

[iamthekaijuking]

Gigabash character overview: RAWA

While Passion Republic Games primarily took inspiration from Ultraman when making Gigabash, it would be remiss to make a kaiju setting without its own Godzilla, and indeed no kaiju setting is worth its salt without one. And brother, Passion Republic Games delivered.

The song used is Area 51 S-class, which would become one of my favorite songs ever. Also if you haven’t already listen to the Gigabash soundtrack, it’s great and funky.

My favorite character in the roster and my main. In comparison to Thundatross, Rawa is the lightning bruiser of the roster. His attacks are slow but hard hitting and he has decent combo potential. Rawa has a powerful charge attack, a breath attack that can extend his time in the air, and an “atomic pulse” with superarmor for sticky situations. This attack in particular can be charged, but be careful with this as the charged version sacrifices one of your health bars.

Design

Being the Notzilla and destruction deity of the setting, Rawa takes obvious inspiration from godzilla, but also some Ultraman reference as to be expected of PRG. Ultraman Belial was a surprising source of inspiration. Rawa also reminds me of Natsunomeryu, although this might not be intentional.

The biggest source of inspiration though was the Phaya Naga, a dragon in southeastern Asian mythology and religion. Different countries and cultures have different versions of the Naga ranging from a snake person, to a multi headed cobra, to a more traditional looking eastern dragon. Rawa specifically takes inspiration from the Malaysian and Thai versions, and it’s pretty obvious given his giant horn, golden plating, and large canines. One of Rawa’s skins is named after the country Napal, and I actually have a coworker who grew up there. It was pretty fun talking to him about his country’s version of the Naga in preparation for this overview! I learned that in Napal, Naga are worshiped as god-like figures, and that to disrespect them or even dirty their shrine can bring bad luck and bodily injury such as swelling and rashes.

Just like his inspiration, Rawa is worshipped and treated with reverence. His worshipers even fashioned him gold rings to wear on his canines!

Here’s some concept art.

Rawa also kinda reminds me of the notzillas made by many people on deviantart back in the early 2010’s when people were starved for kaiju content and were making their own.

Lore

As you figured out by now, Rawa is the infamous “dragon king” mentioned in Skorak and Rohanna’s overviews, and so I think it’s time I paint a complete picture of what happened on Tarabak island.

Long ago the natives of Tarabak island lived in fear. They were constantly under threat of kaiju, until one day a great serpentine dragon appeared and defeated every monster with his overwhelming might and burned them away with his ethereal flames (which aren’t actually composed of fire or generate heat, Rawa’s flames are made of Giga Energy and instead of burning things they rip stuff apart on a molecular level). Under his protection they were safe, and were finally able to settle down and create a grand city.

However, Rawa’s protection came at a cost. He demanded to be treated lavishly and have access to Giga Energy 24/7, so his worshippers had to make giant pyramids in his image that channeled Giga Energy and stored it (that’s why the pyramids in one of the Tarabak arenas sometimes make giant Giga Energy orbs). This wasn’t enough though, and so every year the citizens of Tarabak would gather to provide offerings called “Violet Elixirs”. These were a drink made using Giga Crystals, and people had to mine deep within the earth to harvest them. Years of exposure often left people with purple ring marks on their skin (this is the only side effect of contact with Giga Energy on humans that we know of, and it’s unknown if this is actually a medical condition that needs treatment or if this just means people have tie-dye hands). If this elixir was made in poor quality or if Rawa didn’t like it, then he would burn you alive. If he did like it though then you were allowed to take one of the golden scales Rawa shed.

The most ardent of Rawa’s followers didn’t mind that and viewed death as a gift, but others were obviously not jazzed about the prospect of being killed every year because a big garish lizard didn’t like your radioactive grape juice. What was worse is that the aristocrats started weaponizing Rawa against anyone they didn’t like, so any form of protest was flattened underfoot. This reached a breaking point and almost a century after the founding of the civilization of Tarabak, the people who would eventually become the Eyes of Skorak performed their dark ritual that summoned the eggs of the parasitoid slug. They then put the eggs into their Violet Elixirs, fed them to Rawa, and eventually Skorak ate him from the inside out and took his skull as a shell.

Some people decided to follow this new kaiju and became the Eyes of Skorak, while others fled into Rohanna’s territory and came to worship her. But a third group of people stayed. Unflinchingly loyal to the dragon, they gathered his horn, dead body, and as much Violet Elixir as they could and revived Rawa. This and the fact that flesh still clings to his skull and can still generate ethereal flames after all this time on Skorak’s back indicates that in the universe of Gigabash, kaiju can eventually regenerate from mortal wounds and their cells can potentially live independently and indefinitely so long as they have access to Giga Energy.

Rawa’s new revived form isn’t long and serpentine like it used to be and is now stumpy and sorta dinosaurian, and he’s still trying to gain enough power to reach his original form. This technically also makes Rawa a dracolich.

In the in universe book The Lost World of Tarabak, Petyr’s crew comes across the followers of Rawa last before leaving the island. They still roughly maintain their habitats from their fallen civilization, even keeping their legislative system. They wear gold and some of them even spoke English. Doug, being a member of the Eyes of Skorak, became a slave working in the mines digging for Giga Crystals, the rest of Petyr’s crew were free to leave the island on the condition that they spread word of the return of Rawa, which worked out pretty well since Petyr recorded everything that happened in his book. The captain of their ship never left with them though as he stole a gold trinket, and so he was forced to give Rawa a Violet Elixir before being burnt away. The followers of Rawa know that the dragon hates dishonesty.

To wrap this up: I love Rawa. Rawa is my favorite, and I like talking about him. In fact this entire series of overviews was partly an excuse to talk about him. If you ever face me playing as Rawa then you better beg for mercy.

[gingericywolf]

[Start] - Part 4

The sunrise came up on the boy finishing up the last of the trap pieces. It had been a big use of resources, the doedic being an invaluable helpee in getting all of that. He was sure it would work. He had used similar traps before. Making a pit the rex would fall and get stuck in so he could work with it out of teeth way. It sounded like it would work. It was about to be a great day for big survivor achievement.

He loaded everything on the strong argentavis and flew back to the area he saw the rex in, only to not find her anymore. Instead there where 3 other rexes, still of high level, and the giga still roaming. He had to separate them from the giga. A natural ramp brought up to a flat plateau.

Ok yeah. He could work with that.

He started building his trap there, when other two rexes came down from the neighbouring area. He easily dodged them and once the trap was done it was time to test it. It would be dumb to lure one of the strong rexes so he flew in front of a weaker one, bringing it up, luring it on the ramp, to the trap and.... it didn't work. The rex walked right over.

He changed the trap. Walked another rex up. But it couldn't get in.

Again. It stepped around it.

Again

Again

And Again

His Traps weren't working.

6 or 7 rexes where around now. 4 under the plateau, plus the giga. This was not going well.

He took a big breath breaking down everything and flying back to the raft. Glow of an alpha raptor on the way.

He called everyone back on board and started moving the raft along the coast. He needed a new idea. The classic stone gates and bear traps would not have failed.

But he needed metal for the bear traps and at least he had saw some close.

Bird chirped as the other two argentavis left him behind.

It was luck that an ankylosaur decided to help him gathering the metal he needed, and a few hours and lot of sweat, and random sabertooth attacks, later he had everything ready and loaded to go.

Flying at the same plateau. Two rexes where up there, but neither were the ones he was searching for.

The giga had also disappeared.

He was confused.

What happened? Where did all the creatures go? None of the rexes matched the ones he was after even after several minutes of looking around.

He did find a small cove full of gems tho.

'This can't be happening' he groaned, letting himself fall to the ground under the gaze of the argentavis.

Joker chirped, tapping his hands on johnny's face.

'All of this work for nothing! Why! The Ark Gods have something against me.'

He stayed down there a few more seconds before remembering.

He sit down and moved to the edge. The glow of the alpha still there.

He turned to his argentavis. Oh they could for sure do that. They would at least get something out of the day!

With a newfound grin he was on the saddle, ready for a fight.

End part 4

[Start] - [prev] - [next]

[onlybeeewrites]

Hi!! I was wondering if you could do another part to the violinist?? I really loved it!!

Hi lovely! Absolutely! I hope you guys all enjoy part 2 :)

The Violinist: Pt 2

Requested: yes :))

Pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x fem!reader ???

Warnings: none

Some information/things I made up for the story so don’t be too harsh :)

(I suggest playing this to hear what the reader was playing to be more immersive :))

———————————————————————————————————————————

Benedict

The Delaney House was a well known home for artists. It was owned by a wealthy contributor to the Royal Academy of The Arts. This house in particular was not residential, however. No, this house was more of a center of the arts within London.

It was open to all people of all status and from all sorts of lives. Men, Women, rich, poorer. Everyone who loved the arts were welcome. There were singers, painters, actors musicians.

There was singing rooms for people like Siena Roso practiced singing sometimes—or to show off that voice of hers. Or similarly, there were large acting rooms where groups of actors or inspiring actors would gather and practice together.

There were music rooms, private and group ones. These held chairs and music stands for those who would bring their own instruments, in the larger rooms pianos were available.

Then there were painting rooms. Small and large alike for group paintings, or more private rooms. This is where Benedict always went to when he could.

This House was an escape for him, to blend and mingle with like minded people to find inspiration. To get honest feedback about his work instead of his family constantly praising him just because. There he had gotten feedback about his work before, genuine feedback about what he could do instead, ways to improve it all.

It was his escape from the pressures of society, where he had seen such talent from people who had to work for each meal every day. Fantastic work from pig farmers, but hey cannot do much since it is not affordable to be an artist when it does not pay well from lower statuses.

The the beauty of it was that, at the Delaney House, you can. Or at least have an escape where people only cared about your abilities and talent; not how rich your family was.

So there was a sense of relief to know no one would see the second eldest Bridgerton and treat him any differently.

It was a Sunday morning when Benedict had decided to visit the Delaney House, his family usually would not question when he would slip out of the house for a few hours.

He entered the front doors and made his way down the long corridor that led to other halls and wings of the building, like a spiderweb of artists. It was early so there were not entirely a lot of people there, though to the ones he had seen he gave a polite nod of his head.

Benedict was making his way towards his usual painting room when he heard something that made him stop in his tracts. It was some sort of violin music? It was not like any formal performance he had attended. The quick sharp, perfect notes filled the hallway to the right, and drifted presently to his ears.

It was never odd for a violinist os such to be here either, though for some reason this music intrigued him. So he took a little detour and followed the sound of the music. He walked further down the hall until he stopped outside one of the smaller practice rooms where the door was just slightly ajar.

Benedict peaked inside and a grin grew on his face as he just recognized the person playing. It was a young woman, in her twenties. As the mysterious player slowly turned, her face was exposed and he realized he had recognized the young women. It was the young woman who he had seen Elouise talking before his family’s Ball just a week or so ago.

It was the young violinist that had instructed himself and his brothers. For some reason, knowing that she had attended the same artistic building as him made his chest swell. It was like a little secret place, that only they knew about. It also told him that she was passionate about her music.

Benedict watched as her fingers moved carefully against the strings to make an array of beautiful notes that was so different that was usually played.

As she came to the finish of the song, Benedict couldn’t help but open the door a bit and speak up.

“Forgive me for interrupting, Miss. But I heard you playing and your melody is truly enchanting,” he praised the stranger, smirking as he watched the girl jump, clearly all lost in the music she created; Benedict knew how that was.

Y/N jumped, quickly turning towards the voice that had startled the silence that filled the room once she had finished playin the song.

“Mr. Bridgerton! You frightened me, I had not heard you approach.” She said as she caught her breath, carefully placing her bow and violin in her case for a moment. Though while she turned to place her instrument down, it gave her a moment to collect herself from his compliments. “And thank you, that is incredibly kind of you to say,” Y/N said before returning her attention back to the second eldest Bridgerton.

Benedict gave her a look, “you know the rules here Miss. Formalities are barred at the doorway to this building,” he playfully teased her, leaning against the door way.

Y/N then raised an eyebrow, “then why do you?” She questioned

Benedict let out a laugh, “Because I am yet to properly know your name,” he hummed, watching as the realization grew over the girl.

Growing ever more flustered she cleared her throat, “Oh forgive me. Y/N Lyndon. A pleasure to…properly meet you,” she said with an added chuckle.

Benedict smirked and bowed his head, “An absolute pleasure Y/N.” He said rather boldly. Y/N. Y/N. It was a beautiful name. The painter only worried if it would ever leave his mind.

“Of course,” Y/N said as she gathered her sheet music placing it away in her bag that held a bunch of other sorts of music. “I am to assume you come here often? I am not surprised with he word of how good you are with your drawings and paints. I think I am just surprised I had yet to see you here before today,” she commented.

Benedict adored the rather casual conversation. It was like a silent agreement that within the walls of the Delaney House that there would be no formalities regardless of who you were. It allowed everyone to be almost on an even playing field.

“Yes I don’t usually come Sundays, often I attend during the week, usually later in the days.” He explained.

Y/N nodded as she closed the case to hr things. “I suppose that makes sense. I am only here Sunday mornings. It is the only time I am free to practice what I wish,” she said with a smile.

Benedict hummed and nodded, “I see. Perhaps I will have to start attending Sunday mornings then,” he said with a grin.

“if that is the case, Benedict, you must come rather early. I come when the sun comes up in the sky. Because…” she glanced to the clock that was handing in the corner. “I must be returning home within the hour.” She said, and she could see Benedict’s grin slowly grow into almost a pout.

“Oh truly? You cannot stay just a little bit longer?” He asked, almost like when a child wishes that their mother would allow them to stay up late.

“Unfortunately not this time. I have family visiting from the country and I have to go get ready. Though perhaps next week you can find me at the Featherington’s Ball on Friday. Or early next Sunday,” she said as she passed him in the doorway, a smirk on her face as she playfully brush against the taller man.

Benedict small pout grew into a smirk at her playfulness and almost minx like behavior. He turned and watched her. “Oh truly you can bet that I shall.” He said. Y/N laughed a bit and gave him a wave over her shoulder before walking down the hallway.

Benedict watched, almost enchanted by ht violinist as she made her way down the hallway and around the corner until she was completely out of sight. Benedict never imagined himself with another artist. But then again, he never knew a violinist could be so enchanting. He knew he would be looking forward to the upcoming ball next week, and he knew exactly who to look for.

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

False Water Cobra (Hydrodynastes gigas)

(Photo from Smithsonian's National Zoo)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Central South America

Size (Weight/Length)- 4 kg; 2.4 m

Diet- Small mammals; Fish; Amphibians; Reptiles

Cool Facts- True to its name, the false water cobra isn’t a cobra at all. Like cobras, these snakes have a hood around their head that puffs up when threatened. Unlike cobras, instead of lifting their head off the ground they sort of just lay there and hope you leave them alone. False water cobras prefer a marshy habitat with plenty of places to swim and burrow. Their venom is potent to fish and small mammals but less so to humans. You can survive an initial bite with some swelling and bruising but shock can be common after the fact. False water cobras are popular in the pet trade due to their relatively docile nature. However, their numbers are slowly declining due to illegal gathering from wild populations.

Rating- 12/10 (Would prefer to live in its native homeland.)

Requested by Anonymous

[the-path-to-redemption]

Why the Faunus storyline sucks ass: the personal/character level analysis

This is just my opinion, but to put in perspective how absolutely dogshit RWBY’s Faunus narrative truly is, I’m just gonna rant for a while and compare the storyline to another narrative that I think handled the topic of systematic racism and the cycle of violence due to racism very well: Full Metal Alchemist’s Scar and the Ishvalans. 

Preface: The latter two do so well, in my opinion, because they never truly portray racism as a straight-up allegory in the premise of a fantasy world. By separating a fantasy narrative from completely writing it as a reflection of any specific civil rights movement, it becomes a universal message that everyone can understand and make connections themselves to real-life injustices without inaccurately and/or offensively portraying a sensitive topic such as racism like how RWBY did.

Extremely Long Post Below the Cut. Spoilers for RWBY, Full Metal Alchemist, and Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Trigger warnings for: graphic character deaths, depictions/reference of character deaths, ethnic genocide, war crimes, mentions of abuse, racism, slavery, depiction of a hate crime (branding), reference to child slavery, mild gore, and depictions of violence. 

We shall begin on a personal level, then perhaps move on to the systematic level of how these storylines are so different in the portrayal of racism in another post. Let’s start with the bad: Weiss Schnee and her racism against the Faunus.

I’m gonna be front with ya’ll here: I actually didn’t mind Weiss’ initial behavior at first; it’s obvious where they were going with her character and story: she started off as an entitled, racist and cruel person because of many factors in her life. Weiss came from the wealthiest family in Remnant, with a unique and versatile Semblance that can easily grant her a high status in Atlesian society, However, she is also from a broken and abusive household, with a neglectful mother and a father who was willing to put his heiress through a dangerous trial for her to leave to another nation to find her own path, which resulted in a permanent scarring on her face. 

[A screenshot from RWBY White Trailer. Weiss Schnee in a dark room, eyes closed in a painful expression while blood trail down her face from a wound from the Armor Gigas]

However, Weiss has expressed quite vocal and malicious racism towards the Faunus, especially Sun during Volume 1 Chapter 15 “The Stray”

[RWBY Vol 1 Chapter 15 “The Stray”. Team RWBY gathers around an irate Weiss, who refers to Sun as a “riffraff” following his escape from authorities after stowing away on a ship.]

[RWBY Vol 1 Chapter 15 “The Stray”. Weiss holding up a caricature drawing of Sun Wukong to Penny, depicting him as a violent individual while referring to him as a “filthy Faunus”.]

[RWBY Vol 1 Chapter 15 “The Stray”. In response to Blake’s demand as to why she was degrading Sun for being a Faunus, Weiss gestures to a trashcan, insinuating that she equates him to being trash/referring to him as “filthy” due to his status as a Faunus]

Narratively speaking, these are condemnable behaviors for a character to possess, let alone one of the main characters of the show. Blake, another protagonist, even criticize Weiss for her racism and defended the Faunus, stating that people like Weiss and Cardin are the reasons why Faunus such as the White Fang have to resort to extreme measures to gain their rights. 

[RWBY Vol 1 Chapter 15 “The Stray”. Blake angrily declares that it’s people like Cardin and Weiss, in their discriminatory behavior, have caused the White Fang resorting to extreme measures in their civil rights movement]

So, narratively speaking, we should see that Weiss would reflect on her actions later on, and aim to remove herself from such toxic mindsets and redeem herself from her bigotry, right?

[RWBY Vol 1 Chapter 15 “The Stray”. In response to Blake’s anger, Weiss snapped back, declaring herself a victim in the ordeal with her family and the White Fang. She then recounts the deaths of the supporters of the SDC, the Dust robberies committed by the White Fang, and her father’s reaction, claiming that it had made her childhood difficult.]

Not even close. 

Call me heartless, but while I’m not condoning Jacques’ abuse of his family, I find it insulting that Weiss would see herself as the victim over an entire race of people who are still enslaved by her family, and exploited by those same board members causing them to fight back. 

Sun’s entire kingdom was drained of its resources by her grandfather and the Atlesian kingdom. Ilia, another member of the White Fang, lost her parents in Weiss’ family’s Dust mines after a collapse, then find herself without empathy from her human peers who mocked their deaths. Adam, who was another Faunus character, was enslaved and branded, permanently disabling him for life. 

To compare their lives, knowing subjugation for the majority of it because of the way they were born, to Weiss’ is straight-up stupid. She’s a victim of abuse, but she also perpetuated the cycle of hate on a group of people who were still being used by her father, instead of placing the blame at Jacques’ feet.

What’s even worse? Weiss never apologized to Sun or Blake for being cruel to them in the show canon. You know what’s even more insulting? 

[RWBY: The Official Manga Chapter 8 by Bunta Kinami. Weiss admits her wrongdoings, and apologizes to Blake.]

That apology was written in a secondary source material, by another author not directly associated with the main writing team at CRWBY. And guess what? This decision will never have any impact on Weiss’ canonical character or the main storyline. This is the same as fanfic, and we will never get that closure in canon. 

Weiss then continued to not apologize, and in Volume 7 seemingly developed a “white savior complex” towards the Faunus racism in her own home kingdom. She told Blake that she wishes that she could “take back all the years of abuse her family committed against the Faunus”, but then went to a movie with Jaune and Oscar instead of a rally in support of a candidate running against her father in the Atlas council election, who was supposedly pro-Faunus. 

Why? Why not have both of them be at this event? Sure, it went to shit, but to show the audience that Weiss has truly changed and Blake wanted to continue to fight for Faunus’ rights, it’s logical to have them go to this rally right?? No, Weiss went to a movie with a guy she dislikes, and Blake went to a club with a team she doesn’t like. Neither of them took initiative to actually change the systematic racism against Faunus in Atlas, the infamously most racist kingdom in Remnant. 

Matter of fact, Weiss and Blake rarely have any development with this conflict between them save for sparse moments that don’t amount to anything and came out of no organic progression at all. They never talk about the ongoing discrimination anymore, Blake blamed her own kind for the way they were treated and placed the responsibility of Adam’s White Fang at their feet, and Weiss never truly did anything to change the Atlesian people’s mindset on the Faunus citizens there. Hell, Marrow, the token Faunus in the most elite unit of the Atlas military, never has another conversation with them about what it’s like being a Faunus in Atlas. It all went to waste. 

Now, let’s compare that to FMA 

[Full Metal Alchemist. A young Scar faces his people during the Ishval Civil War]

The character Scar is a fascinating one; he’s a survivor of the Ishvalan people who were massacred by the Amestrian government and their State Alchemists to create a philosopher stone (a great form of alchemic power) in exchange for their lives following torturous experiments. 

Scar also lost his brother in the war, who before passing away gave Scar his own arm tattooed with a transmutation array as a legacy. Understandably, Scar was enraged by this chain of events and went on a killing spree to eliminate every State Alchemist as revenge for what they did in the war, even if they weren’t involved at all. 

[Full Metal Alchemist. A heavily injured Scar awoke to see that his arm has been replaced with his brother’s, who died in the war. His face was twisted in an expression of horror and shock at the revelation.]

But perhaps one of the most interesting differences between Scar’s story from Blake’s, and even to the rest of the Faunus storyline, was that even though Scar’s actions were extreme and he himself acknowledged it with great guilt, especially after murdering a doctor couple who did nothing but saves innocents in his grief, FMA’s narrative never invalidates or demonized his anger. 

Scar was allowed to be angry, to be hateful, to be in emotional pain after a traumatic event in his life without the narrative ever condemning such emotions. The narrative never fully condones his rampant extremism either, especially after the murder of Winry’s parents and orphaning their young daughter in his grief. And despite all of this, Scar was given more to his character than just a man consumed by wrath and blood. 

[Full Metal Alchemist. Scar places his hand on the amalgamation that was Nina Tucker and her dog Alexander, with the intent of mercy killing them after they were forcibly fused by Shou Tucker, Nina’s father, and a State Alchemist.]

Scar exhibits mercy, sadness, understanding, and empathy towards other characters throughout the series. He was allowed to be a fully fleshed-out character, with more than just the drive for vengeance and the need to destroy out of fury. And once again, he fully acknowledges that his actions were wrongful and do not excuse himself for killing innocents such as the Rockbells. And this is where another important character in his story comes in: Winry Rockbell, the orphaned daughter of his first victims. 

[Full Metal Alchemist. Scar was surrounded by the Elric brothers while Winry Rockbell aims a gun at him, racked with grief after learning that he was her parents’ murderer.]

When face to face with Winry, Scar never blamed her for hating him. He fully understood her pain and told her that he wouldn’t stop her from trying to shoot him out of vengeance for what he did to her parents. But he claims that he would not just let her, because he has a mission to complete, just like she does. 

But then, Scar’s entire ideology was flipped on its head after this sequence of events:

[Full Metal Alchemist. Scar aimed to attack Edward Elric, who threw himself in front of Winry Rockbell to protect her. Scar was reminded of how his own brother protected him and hesitated.]

[Full Metal Alchemist. Winry approaches a bleeding Scar after he told her that she can enact her vengeance. However, Winry surprises everyone by offering to bandage up his wound, claiming that he would bleed to death if he doesn’t tend to it.]

Scar was shown an alternative to end the cycle of violence from the girl who he had wronged, altering his previous mindset of only stopping the cycle by completely destroying a side in the conflict. Winry, instead of continuing it out of retribution like he did, chose mercy and compassion. But at the same time, she refuses to forgive him for the atrocities he had committed.

[Full Metal Alchemist. Winry declares that while she doesn’t want to kill Scar, he should not misunderstand her actions as forgiveness.]

Compare this to how the characters in RWBY reacted to this sort of conflict; an in-universe minority acted with extreme measures against an oppressive and murderous system, causing them to commit atrocities against innocents that affected another important character in the narrative in major ways. 

What FMA did right was not invalidating either Scar or Winry’s pain and anger, the narrative of FMA never condemned Scar for fighting back for his people, the narrative never judges Winry for not forgiving him, the narrative of FMA did not sacrifice either of their characters to progress the plot and the conflict. 

RWBY did not do anything like that. Blake lost all of the sparks that marked her as an interesting character, who aimed to fight for her people’s rights and calls out bigoted actions, even when it came from her teammates and someone who she will see as a friend. Weiss never apologized to the Faunus she had hurt, nor did she substantially change anything about the way she or her fellow Atlesians think about the Faunus. Weiss did not add anything to Blake’s story, and she never even met the greatest sin her family has committed that we, the audience, saw on screen. 

[RWBY Volume 6 Chapter 11 “The Lady in the Shoe”. Adam Taurus with his signature White Fang mask off, revealing a branding scar across his left eye spelling the initials “SDC”, permanently disfiguring and disabling him.]

Weiss never saw Adam. 

Adam, arguably the character who underwent the most racial abuse at the hands of humans, at the hands of WEISS’ FAMILY LEGACY, was made into a caricature of an abuser. Despite the fact that this proves that he was a slave, the fact that her family continues to exploit an entire race of people and treated them like property or dirt, despite all of the possibilities of these characters having more to them.

Weiss never saw what her family’s name has done to Adam. And Adam himself was made into someone the audience hated, instead of having the respect he deserved. The respect that Scar had. 

His anger was demonized, even by Blake who knows he has this brand on him, his fury was condemned by the narrative and the characters in said narrative (Ghira, Blake, and Sienna), and his trauma was mocked by the writers when Miles motherfucking Luna referred to his torture as “grab a branding iron and let him have it”. 

And the conclusion to these two narratives cannot be more different. Scar, having gained the knowledge of what truly happened to his people, aimed his anger at the one who was deserving of it the most. King Bradley, better known as the Homunculus Wrath, was the ruler of Amestris and the one who ordered the massacre of the Ishvalan people. 

[Full Metal Alchemist. Scar, using the arm with the Construction array, delivers a fatal blow to the Homunculus Wrath.]

This outcome was both narratively and symbolically satisfying for Scar’s story, as well as the Ishvalan narrative. Wrath was the one who spearheaded the ethnic genocide of Scar’s people, creating a seemingly endless cycle of violence and pain, giving birth to the man known as “Scar” who was willing to throw himself into hell to enact vengeance for his people. 

But Scar defeated him after altering his view on the cycle of violence, no longer just depending on mindless destruction but to truly changing for the better while never compromising on his righteous fury for his kin. But he aimed it at someone who deserved it, instead of innocents. And it started with a girl who showed him another way to live with grief. To move on. 

So he killed the Homunculus named Wrath and symbolically separated himself from that version of the wrath inside of him. Scar the Ishvalan got the respect he deserved as a character, and subsequently his story, the story of the Ishvalan the fantasy race who underwent horrific treatments that we the audience can see happening in our own real-life history, was given that respect it deserved. 

What did Adam Taurus, the civil rights fighter and the child slave, have in his story’s conclusion?

[RWBY Volume 6 Chapter 12 “Seeing Red”. Adam Taurus was stabbed by Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long during their conflict with the severed halves of Gambol Shroud, Blake’s weapon.]

[RWBY Volume 6 Chapter 12 “Seeing Red”. Adam Taurus collapsed onto his knees before the waterfall’s mouth, while Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long watches him.]

[RWBY Volume 6 Chapter 12 “Seeing Red”. Adam Taurus succumbed to his injuries and fall into the basin to his death.]

This. 

This is what Adam was given as a conclusion. Let it speak for itself. And let it speak for what RWBY truly sees about a racism storyline that the writing crew chose to write in their narrative. The narrative that they themselves claimed to be a direct allegory to the African-American civil rights movement in the U.S. during the late 60s-70s. 

This is what RWBY gave to their narrative of a racism plotline. 

[tempenensis]

Tell us, Akutami-sensei!!

(Several Q&As answered by Akutami-sensei in the Jump Giga Autumn 2022. Other extra: Gosanke profile)

Q1: Among Gojou, Megumi, Maki, Mai, Naobito, Naoya, Touji, Noritoshi (young), Noritoshi (Kenjaku), and Getou (Kenjaku), which one have the strongest grip strength? A: Excluding Touji, Maki, Kenjaku who got into Getou’s (body).

Q2: Does members of Gosanke who are homeschooled also learn general school subjects (language, math, etc)? A: Yes, they do. In home, they learn that if you take “M” from “MOTHER”, you get “other” which means other people.

Q3: Does “physically gifted” can only be born from Zenin family? Can two people like that at times be born in Zenin family? A: Yes sometimes. (In Zenin family) the genetic (of physically gifted) seems can be easily expressed.

Q4: Is physically gifted bound to always be born one person at times like Six eyes? A: No. But maybe it will be an impossible chance (that two person with the same physically gifted alive at the same time) 

(continued under the cut)

Q5: Among Gojou, Megumi, Maki, Mai, Naobito, Naoya, Touji, Noritoshi (young), Noritoshi (Kenjaku), Getou (Kenjaku), without curse energy, how would you rank them based on strength without curse energy, without any weapons? A: Aside from Touji, Maki, Kenjaku and Gojou would be a good match. The next would be Naoya > Fushiguro > Mai.

Q6: Is Ranta with Maki and Mai friendly with each other? A: Please imagine a relative that are different in age, when they gathers, they would rather talk to the adults than the children and you don’t know whether they are younger cousin or one of the uncles. It’s that kind of distance.

Q7: In chapter 195, when the sword that Mai made opposes Daidou, does that come from Mai’s volition? A: It’s the volition of high school (technical college) girl.

Q8: As a jujutsushi, who is stronger between Naobito and Ougi? Also, how much is their difference in ability? A: Naobito far surpasses (Ougi). I think Ougi doesn’t know Naobito’s real strength.

Q9: How much did Naoya converse with Touji? A: It seems that they only talk a little. However, when he was a child, wouldn’t he secretly follow him around (in the first place, Touji didn’t stay much in the house).

Q10: Does Naoya hate the Blood manipulation technique because he was defeated by Choso? Or is it because it’s the technique of Kamo family? A: It’s onii-chan’s fault.

Q11: Ranta said that the current Zenin family still exists because of Touji’s whim, did Touji ever retaliate against the Zenin family? A: He never did. Whether this is because of Mamakuro is ambiguous.

Q12: He said that kuchisake onna was not his type, but what is actually Touji’s type? A: A woman who can support him (financially).

Q13: Does the Zenin family can’t take over (forcefully) Megumi who possesses their inherited technique because of Gojou (alive)? A: It just because Gojou is still alive, (they) can’t break over the agreement with Touji.

Q14: Aside from Noritoshi (young) and Shino, is there any remaining member of Kamo family which have been taken over by Kenjaku still alive? A: There’s quite a lot. However, Noritoshi’s papa (the previous head) was defeated (by Kenjaku).

Q15: What is the reason Noritoshi cut his hair? A: It’s to change his feelings. He usually always cut it in the house, but without thinking, he enters a barbershop and gets 1000-yen haircut.

Q16: What was the reason Kenjaku let go of Kusouzu that he created with enthusiasm? Was because it didn’t come out as he imagined? A: That’s right. It seems that he just wanted to try creating it. After all, he probably wanted to incarnate the results.

Q17: Gojou family is one-man (clan) of Gojou (Satoru), if Gojou did not born, will there be a dispute over the clan head? A: I don’t think there will be one. Fundamentally in Gojou family, if someone is born with Six eyes and Limitless technique, they (automatically) will be the family head; if so, wouldn’t the dispute over who get to be the family head in the meantime become not exciting?

Q18: As their family head, is the Gojou family attached to Gojou (Satoru)? A: He was spoiled.