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ectonurites · 3 years

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idk how to quote tags on mobile where is the conner kent essay i NEED it

ALRIGHT OKAY! here’s 5k+ words plus panels & screenshots of me comparing and contrasting the two drastically different versions of Superboy (comics vs young justice cartoon) and going over what makes them such distinctly separate characters. someday i’ll refine this a bit more its kinda just a word dump that’s been living in my brain that i wanted to actually articulate after i read through Reign of the Supermen but here we go:

Pretty frequently I see the question “Why is Superboy so different in the Young Justice cartoon?” float around in DC circles. I think there are two main approaches to answering this:

Why did the writers of the cartoon decide to create a very different version of Superboy?

What factors make this Superboy so different from the comic version?

For the first approach the answer is relatively straight-forward, from the start Young Justice as a cartoon was never meant to be a direct adaptation of the comics. They just used the title and a few elements so they could create their own approach to the DC universe with a focus on younger heroes. For example, Artemis Crock in their show is also COMPLETELY different from her comic counterpart, Zatanna is aged way down to be a member of the teen team, and Kaldur’ahm was created for this show (and integrated into the comics as Jackson Hyde). They were always trying to do different things than the main comics universe, so them making a different version of Conner also makes sense. Their approach to him is also very clearly influenced more by how he appeared in the Teen Titans comic run that was still coming out as Young Justice started airing (his design, and some other elements we’ll discuss along the way), as opposed to his original version from the 90′s/the Young Justice comic.

So the basic “why” is that from the start they wanted to create something unique to their universe, which they definitely did accomplish.

The much more interesting subject to dive into, though, is looking at the differences in Superboy’s story that contribute to him becoming such a different person.

The drastic changes made to the following factors are what I view as the main source of his differences in personality/outlook/characterization:

The conditions and history of the world at the time he is introduced

The circumstances around him being introduced/leaving Cadmus

The reaction Clark has to him and how their relationship starts

The people he first interacted with & became close to, and how he interacts with the world

The timing of him finding out about his connection to Luthor

The State of the Worlds

In the comics, Superboy is first introduced in Adventures of Superman #500 by iconically saying “Don’t ever call me Superboy!”

during a 1993 event called “Reign of the Supermen”, a follow up to the 1992 event “The Death of Superman”. Based on the title of the 1992 event, I think you can, uh, guess what one major difference in the setting here was vs. the state of the world at the time he was introduced in the cartoon. Obviously Clark didn’t stay dead forever, but Superboy first comes onto the scene as a young clone of Superman who insists he is the new Superman (one of the four characters trying to do so during the event). This is in the main DC universe in the early 90’s, which means that heroes in general, including teen heroes, aren’t a new thing! Not only has the Justice League been around for a while but so has the Teen Titans. Once Clark is alive again, Superboy goes off on his own to establish himself as an individual teen hero.

So how is that different in the cartoon?

In the cartoon, Superboy is first introduced in the pilot episodes “Independence Day” and “Fireworks”

on the 4th of July in (what most people consider to be) 2010. This was supposed to be the day that Robin (Dick Grayson), Speedy (Roy Harper), Kid Flash (Wally West), and Aqualad (Kaldur’ahm) would get to see the true Justice League HQ at the Hall of Justice, which... doesn’t go exactly as planned.

In this world, superheroes are a newer thing, this is something that the creators have talked about before. At this point, while there is an established Justice League, there are no known teams of teen superheroes. Just the fact that as of season one Dick Grayson is still Robin is a pretty good indicator that this world is early in it’s time with a Batman. Now, the sidekicks aren’t a secret, as they appear very publicly in this first episode, but they are almost always seen acting with their mentors at this point. Again, there is no Teen Titans in this setting, and there never has been.

So when they do form the first teen hero team? It is kept covert-ops. They do not publicize that they act as a superhero team, and the members who weren’t already publicly known heroes (mainly Miss Martian and Superboy) end up being pretty… unknown to a lot of the world outside the hero/villain community! Again their existence is not strictly kept a secret, but they keep the fact that there’s a team of minors who are heroes going on independent missions VERY under the radar on purpose. Thus, those who aren’t going around doing super public hero activities just don’t have nearly as much of a presence.

So to summarize:

In the comics, Superboy is immediately put in a spotlight (he befriends a reporter and is all over tv and literally trademarks the name Superman) becoming known to the world and establishes himself as a solo acting hero YEARS before joining any teams.

In the cartoon, Superboy is kept relatively out of the spotlight, immediately becomes part of a covert-ops team and doesn’t act solo very often. The well known teen heroes in this setting are sidekicks working under a mentor, and Superboy does not actually act as a sidekick.

What does this mean for Superboy?

Superboy in the comics gets to, right away, act on his own and get a taste of what being Superman is like. In the cartoon, he’s brought into the world at a time where there already is a Superman. I think back to this bit from the therapy episode, where he says:

“See, from the moment I first opened my eyes in that Cadmus pod, there’s been one thing I’ve wanted, and feared. To know what it is to be Superman.”

Comics Superboy started out getting to do that! He immediately got a shot at filling that role, and he then makes the choice to relinquish it back to the original once he’s alive again. He (begrudgingly at first) understood that it wasn’t yet his time to be Superman, and knows he’ll someday fill those shoes for real- but in the meantime being Superboy is gonna be his own thing and he’ll embrace it and make it work.

Cartoon Superboy is left in a shadow, not ever truly knowing what it’s like to fill those shoes (except in a doomsday scenario training exercise gone awry that he then just feels intense guilt over). This leaves him a lot more frustrated and lost, and I think is a major contributor to how angry this version of Superboy is compared to his much more ‘chill go with the flow’ attitude in the comics.

Cadmus

In the comics, in that same issue he’s introduced, we find out that Superboy broke out of his cloning tube prematurely and left Cadmus with the assistance of the second Newsboy Legion, who also gave him his first leather jacket, before the programming that would allow Cadmus to control him was implemented.

He quickly gets up to speed with the situation, that Clark is dead. So he comes on the scene starting to save people and saying he is Superman, or at least the clone of the original one. A major thing that does influence his character here is the fact that… this is the 90’s. He is designed around the idea of what is ‘cool’ back in 1993. (look, even his original character design sheets call him cool)

So right off the bat he’s got a stereotypical ‘cool teen guy in that era’ personality, which is often played for comedy to add a little lightness to some of the dark things happening during this event.

Anyways, he has left Cadmus, he’s acting on his own, and he starts realizing that his powers aren’t exactly the same as Superman’s over the course of the Reign of the Supermen story.

After the main conflict is settled and Clark is fully alive and acting as Superman again, the two of them end up going back to Cadmus to find out what the exact deal is with him. I’ll go into this more in a later point, but they find out he’s not exactly a clone of Superman (or Lex- him being actually involved as a DNA donor is a retcon that happened a decade later). They agree to let someone from Cadmus (Dubbilex- the grey guy with the horns in this pic) leave Metropolis with him, as he sets out on a press tour to establish himself as Superboy now that he relinquished the trademark on the Superman name back to Clark.

Let’s pause and look at how this is different in the cartoon.

In the cartoon, when the trio of Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad decide to prove themselves to their mentors they run off on their own to attend to a fire at Project Cadmus when the Justice League got called off to do something else. Upon arriving, they accidentally uncover some weird things about Cadmus, like the crazy amount of sublevels, the creatures roaming around, and the fact that it’s not on the main power grids. They eventually find Superboy, still in his cloning tube. They break him out, but then get captured themselves.

When they are then put into tubes by Cadmus personnel, they manage to convince Superboy to help free them by promising him things like getting to meet Superman, and see the moon. The group of four now working together manages to escape from the building and it topples down, where they are then greeted by the Justice League who are Not Happy.

Superman flies away shortly after, and the group of kids explain to their remaining mentors that sure, they disobeyed orders, but they accomplished something good here, and they are going to keep doing it, whether the League likes it or not. The compromise is the formation of The Team, to be covert-ops while the Justice League acts publicly, and the boys are joined by Miss Martian.

So to summarize:

In the comics, Superboy leaves Cadmus pretty independently (with some assistance) to go act on his own as a hero immediately. He returns to Cadmus later for more information, and they reveal truths to him about his existence. After he knows his truth, he goes off to continue establishing himself as a solo hero but lets Cadmus still supervise what he’s doing through Dubbilex.

In the cartoon, Superboy is rescued from Cadmus by Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad, without knowing pretty much anything about himself besides the fact that he is a clone of Superman, and is immediately put on the covert ops team.

What it means for Superboy:

Comic Superboy goes to act on his own, even after he admits he’s not the real Superman anymore. Yes he’s not 100% alone in terms of ‘he’s got people (Rex, Roxy, Dubbilex, Tana) around him’, but as a hero he’s a solo act and ends up taking residence in Hawaii. In the cartoon, by joining a team right away, he’s taking on a very different style of being a hero, especially because the team itself is covert-ops. Rather than regularly saving the day all on his own much like Superman, which can help comic Superboy feel like he’s still living up to the name more, cartoon Superboy is working under the radar in a group setting, while still wanting to desperately fill those Superman shoes.

He is overconfident in his abilities and wants to be the hero he was created to be, so him being put into this very different type of superhero situation is another major contributor to the frustration/anger. Even later on when comics Superboy is part of forming the Young Justice team, they were never a secret covert-ops team, they were always publicly known. (hell, a reporter is the one who gave them the team name Young Justice because he’d misheard Bart)

Superboy & Superman

In the comics, as we have established, Clark was dead at the time Superboy first came on the hero scene. Clark comes back to life, during a little bit of a lull in the middle of the huge conflict. He immediately accepts that Superboy is one of four who came forward to try to replace him, and one of the only two (Superboy & Steel) who genuinely only had good intentions in doing so. Clark, Steel, Supergirl, Hal Jordan, and Superboy then all work together in the big battle against the Cyborg Superman.

Once things are settled, Clark is curious about him, and where he came from and his origin, so they end up going to Cadmus together with Guardian and learning more about him, as I previously mentioned. Once it is established that Superboy is in fact a metahuman clone who was created to mimic Superman, but is not actually a clone of him, Superman still accepts him and thinks he’s earned his right to continue using the ’S’ shield and have the name of Superboy.

They part ways so Superboy can go on his press tour, but in general they have pretty positive interactions where they mutually respect each other! Not too much later in the comics even (I forget exaaactly when this happens but it’s definitely before the 1998 Young justice comic), Superman is the first one to give Superboy a real name, “Kon-El”, something he is so happy about he literally cries.

How is this different in the cartoon?

When the boys first escaped, and Superboy first meets the Justice League, Clark is standoffish. Other members of the league need to nudge him over to go actually talk to Superboy, and it’s not much of a conversation before he flies off and away, leaving Superboy frustrated and alone.

This… turns into the standard for almost the entire first season. Other characters constantly telling Clark that he needs to reach out and be support for the boy (like in this iconic diner scene with Bruce and Clark), but Clark consistently being too freaked out by the fact that someone made a clone of him without his knowledge to properly accept Conner. While this does over time get better, this being the immediate reaction when Superboy is brand new in the world definitely… has an impact!

He is rejected by the person he idolizes, and feels neglected and abandoned, and definitely kinda overcompensates with ego to try to make up for it.

So:

In the comics, Superman and Superboy work together from the start, not falling into a hero/sidekick situation but rather acknowledging each other as individual heroes with respect for one another. They grow to see each other as family much faster, and little tension between them. A crucial difference in situations, though, is that at the time these versions first meet Superboy is not actually a clone of Superman.

In the cartoon, Superman at first avoids Superboy, and does not offer guidance or mentorship or anything the boy needs. It is clear that he wants to work with Superman and be like him, since it was what he was created to do. It takes a lot of time for Clark to accept Conner in this setting, and there is a lot of tension for the first several months Conner exists. (they seem to settle this towards the end of season 1/during the gap between season 2, but it still has it’s impact on who Conner is early in his life)

What does this mean?

I feel like this is another major factor that contributes to Conner being so angry all the time in the cartoon, he feels immediately rejected by the person he’s supposed to be someday, rather than accepted by him. Again, very different from how comics Superboy got a chance to be Superman, and a chance to then work with the real deal as equals.

Friendships, Relationships and Identity

When Superboy is freed by the second Newsboy Legion, it’s primarily out of a ‘we’re clones who are stuck here, but you need to be out there, you’re what Metropolis needs right now!’ kind of idea. The first person he actually becomes close to is a reporter named Tana Moon.

Tana and Superboy’s relationship is… bad once it actually becomes romantic due to their huge age difference (she’s around 23, he is for all intents and purposes 16), but during the Reign of the Supermen where they’re still just friends for the most part, it’s not as bad. Tana becomes the GBS correspondent who focuses on everything Superboy (at this time still insisting he is the new Superman) is doing as a hero, and they become close friends.

GBS then also brings in Rex Leech (and his daughter Roxy) to be his agent, to promote Superboy and manage things for him. Rex is exploitative as hell, but Roxy does become another really important person to Superboy. These characters along with Dubbilex are his main supporting cast at the start of his solo comic when he’s in Hawaii.

In this whole era, Superboy is pretty much a celebrity. He’s cool, he’s a superhero, and I think it’s very notable he does not have a secret Identity. For a decent chunk of time, he is always just ‘Superboy’ (until, as I mentioned earlier, Clark gives him the name Kon-El. Even so, he doesn’t adopt a regular secret identity [Conner Kent, although he actually used a different one, Carl Grummett, before that!] until he begins living with the Kents in the early 2000s). By the time he joins any teams, Kon is pretty damn confident in who he is as a hero and has a relatively good grasp on who he is in general, if anything he’s a little too confident.

Young Justice was created in the aftermath of World Without Grown Ups when the trio of Superboy, Robin (Tim Drake) and Impulse (Bart Allen) had teamed up. After they saved the day they realized they worked well together and formed their team, utilizing the old Justice League base in Mount Justice. They were eventually joined by more members, especially relevant here is Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) who Kon later dates for a portion of the Teen Titans run that these four are in after Young Justice ends.

The four of them become close, and when Kon dies during Infinite Crisis it rips a hole in everything they had established growing up together over the past several years (Cassie joins a cult dedicated to bringing him back, Tim tries to clone a new Kon, Bart got aged up and took on the mantle of the Flash, etc) and Bart’s death that followed similarly shook the remaining Cassie and Tim. This group eventually does get to reunite, with Kon and Bart coming back during Final Crisis, solidifying how even things like death don’t keep them apart for long. It’s hard to look at the comic book versions of these four characters and imagine how they would be without their connections to each other... until you look at the YJ cartoon and see a world where they’re not even all part of the same generation, let alone a friend group.

Now in the cartoon…

The first people Conner primarily interacts with are Dick, Wally, Kaldur, and M’gann, along with the League members who interact with The Team pretty regularly, Red Tornado, Batman, and Black Canary. He’s shown to be friends with the other memebers of the team and get along with them relatively well, but in general he’s not much of a social person.

Much like in the comics, Superboy is considered very attractive, and immediately upon their meeting, M’gann is interested in him. Very, very interested in him.

At first it definitely does seem more just like an innocent crush, but it’s later revealed to be a little more… concerning than that. As in ‘Megan subtlety influencing Superboy to become her dream boyfriend based on a TV show she likes’ concerning. Like… she literally gives him the name ‘Conner’ after the TV show character that was the boyfriend of the character she bases her human self and entire identity on. The two date and once that becomes a thing, a lot of their plot lines in the following seasons revolve around the ups and downs of their relationship.

In general in this show, Superboy doesn’t really get much of a chance to establish himself on his own terms. Within months of him leaving his cloning pod, he and M’gann start going to high school with secret identities, so he’s already having to hide who he truly is to blend in with other people, before he even knows who he truly is.

So to compare:

In the comics, Superboy gets to figure out who he is as Superman’s Clone/Superboy very publicly, has multiple love interests and a celebrity status, and over time becomes part of a tight-knit group of friends. He doesn’t use a regular secret identity for the first several years he’s active.

In the cartoon, Superboy has one love interest with a very large impact on him, not nearly as much focus is given to his other friendships, and he immediately adopts a secret identity meaning he needs to hide who he is from the start.

What it means:

These factors play a big difference in his attitude, particularly highlighting how extroverted his comic version is and how introverted his cartoon version is. Comic Superboy never really needed to hide who he was until years into his career, vs being told to do so early on in his life. When you get used to needing to hide things so early, that can definitely lead to being more private/disconnected from others. Also somewhat related- in the comics, when Kon is given knowledge in his cloning tube, more pop culture got included. He mentions knowing Star Wars without having seen it, and references a ton of TV and Movies, vs the cartoon version of him that seems to have been given a lot of history of the world but not the current fun stuff. It’s the difference between knowing what’s going on in the world and what’s popular, vs only knowing the past and what’s fundamental. Not knowing pop culture like this can also really contribute to feeling alienated and lead to introversion. (I just... I think about how in the comics Kon’s favorite TV show is Wendy The Werewolf Stalker, in the cartoon Conner just... watches white noise static)

Also, having a completely different set of friends with different personalities has a big effect, people are always gonna be influenced by the people they’re close to to some extent. Bumping Conner up to Dick’s generation of heroes instead of Tim’s not only gives him completely different friends, but it also puts him in this position of being one of the ‘Original Team Members’. By this I mean, a member of the first iteration of the only teen team, one of the people that younger heroes coming onto the scene and joining the team in later seasons see as an experienced and older team member to look up to (despite the fact that cartoon Conner is permanently 16- they never fixed that for him like in the comics). That just creates a different dynamic entirely, because in the comics even when the Tim/Kon/Cassie/Bart group are more experienced on their team late in the Teen Titans run, they are still always going to have heroes like Dick Grayson, Donna Troy, Wally West etc as the older generation of ‘original teen heroes’ who came before them.

Also, while I am talking mostly about in-universe reasoning here, I do wanna bring up one slightly more meta reason that might also have contributed to them choosing to go for a more ‘introverted brooding hero’ characterization with him: the fact that their version of Wally already filled the ‘flirty jokey’ archetype original Comics Kon fits into. Having two characters like that in the show from the start would definitely get... overwhelming. And at the time this show was first airing, in the comics, he was relatively devoted to Cassie and not nearly as flirty anymore anyways.

Lex Luthor / Details of Cloning

In the comics, as I have already mentioned and will now actually explain, when Superboy was first introduced he was not the clone of Superman and Lex Luthor as we know him to be today. Kon was a metahuman clone, made with the DNA of Paul Westfield who worked at Cadmus, that they genetically altered to look like Superman, and gave powers based on the energy aura they discovered to exist around Clark’s dead body. This telekinetic field gave Kon the distinct powers he had for his first decade of existence: His Tactile Telekinesis (often referred to by him as TTK)

Lex Luthor was originally not directly involved in his creation, but he was aware that it was going on as is revealed during the Reign of the Supermen arc. Kon’s TTK allowed him to mimic Superman’s flight and strength, but not all of his powers. TTK also gave him powers Superman DOESN’T have, such as his ability to dismantle machinery or mold materials he is touching into different shapes. (The reason this is called Tactile Telekinesis is because there needs to be a tactile element, he needs to be touching the things)

It is not until 2003, a decade after Superboy was created, that writer Geoff Johns in his Teen Titans run decided to alter Superboy’s origin. He established that Lex Luthor had been the real human DNA donor and that Superman’s Kryptonian DNA was actually used in the cloning process. Around this time, Conner also begins to exhibit more of the typical Kryptonian powers, like Clark did around this age.

This information is at first only known by Conner and Tim, because the email had actually been sent to Tim directly. The two keep it a secret as Conner was not ready to tell the rest of the team, because he fears the implications it has, and is afraid of becoming evil or being rejected. This revelation about Lex being one of his ‘parents’ DNA-wise coming years into his hero career changes a lot of things for Conner, and makes him begin to question who he is. Unfortunately, Lex does at one point take control of Conner and force him to break Tim’s arm and attack Cassie directly (as well as the rest of the team, but these two specifically are what Conner expresses the most guilt over after the fact). This era of Conner in the comics is where he’s definitely closest to his cartoon counterpart, because he’s very troubled and dealing with a lot of heavy stuff regarding himself as a person. Yet there’s still traces of who he has always been in there. I mean, if you’re only familiar with cartoon Conner, can you really imagine his final words as he’s dying after saving the world being “Isn’t it cool?”

Now, looking at the cartoon…

Conner finds out about his connection to Lex in November, only a few months after having existed outside of a cloning tube. He finds it out on his own, from Lex speaking to him directly, after Conner went back to investigate the remains of Cadmus and ended up having a fight with Match (another clone who is able to pass for Conner’s duplicate who they… their version of Match is another thing they drastically changed from the comic version but as we’ve established that’s something they like to do so I’m not gonna dwell on it).

In the cartoon, Conner’s powerset is, from the start, different from both Superman and comic Superboy. Here he has heightened senses and strength and the ability to leap really far, but he lacks actual flight and some of the other standard Kryptonian powers, and has no TTK. The cartoon explains these gaps in his powers as being due to his half human DNA, and they introduce these patches that are able to suppress his human DNA and give him temporary access to full powers. Lex uses these patches as a way to manipulate him. Much like in the comics, Lex has a code word programmed into Conner that effects him, although it isn’t quite used for the same amount of ‘total mind control’, and he doesn’t get fully brainwashed and turn against the team or anything. Instead, the code word (here “Red Sun” rather than “Aut vincere, aut mori” [Translated as “to conquer or die" / "victory or death”]) just leaves him stuck in a hypnotic trance.

So:

In the comics, Kon finds out after years of believing he was a metahuman clone who was given powers to mimic Superman, that he is actually a clone of Lex Luthor and Superman, which alters his entire perspective on himself! This causes him to become a lot more unsure and anxious about who he is, in stark contrast with how confident he was before. There are still traces of his old self within him, but this is a development in his character that influences him moving forward, making him a bit more serious but still at his core the same person he used to be.

In the cartoon, Conner finds out after months of thinking he was a clone of just Superman, that he has half human DNA and the donor was Lex Luthor. While he always had confidence in his abilities, he was still somewhat lost as a person in knowing who he really was outside of things other people have assigned to him (teammate, boyfriend, superhero, etc), and finding out this information about himself just adds to the uncertainty and frustration.

What it means:

Having this struggle be something Conner has to deal with so early in his existence is one of the most fundamental changes in my opinion. Finding out that Lex Luthor is one of your clone parents is something that will alter your entire perception of yourself and who you are! In the comics, Conner had already been confident in who he was so it shakes his world in a really big way, but in the cartoon he still didn’t know who he really was so it just adds to further confusion.

I think that even with the more serious characterization Kon starts getting in the 2003 Teen TItans run, his history and past as the fun cool 90′s Metropolis Kid isn’t entirely forgotten, it’s still a part of who he is/was. Sure, maybe he’s sometimes even embarrassed by how he used to be, but it’s not treated as though it didn’t happen. All of his history comes together to create the character and who he is by the time he wears just a T shirt as a costume.

By skipping over the fun era of his life and jumping right into who he was when he started facing these huge changes, it creates such a completely different set of challenges for him and that contributes directly to how he’s characterized.

Putting it all together

The ultimate point I am trying to reach in all of this is that, beyond just ‘they made a writing choice to make him different’ the environment that Superboy was brought into and the events that took place right when he came into the world greatly influenced the type of character he would become. Every time an adaptation is made of something like comics, there are going to be changes and alterations to fit the world the creators want to make. Sometimes these changes are minor and don’t actually change who a character is (an example for the YJ cartoon’s universe itself: In the tie-in comics [issue 6] it’s established in this universe that the Flying Graysons weren’t just Dick and his parents, but other family members were active parts of it too. One was an uncle also named Richard, who actually survived the fall that killed the rest of his family but was left paralyzed and thus unable to care for him. This uncle already used the nickname ‘Rick’ which is likely why Dick ended up using ‘Dick’ as a name in a modern setting even though it has fallen out of popularity as a nickname because uh, connotations. This is something that is mostly unique to their world and helps to explain some things, but it’s not like tragically losing a few more family members changed their version of Dick and his backstory that drastically. At his core, he still has many similarities to his comic self) but they’re still changes, and that’s okay. Superboy, though, is such an extreme case where they made so many changes that at his core he really does become a completely separate character. Sure he has the name and design, but I was able to write five thousand words about differences here and am struggling to come up with more similarities beyond that.

I think there still could be specks of the original Superboy buried inside cartoon Conner, and that maybe he could have been more like his original version under other circumstances. Looking at these differences and where they come from is, I think, a cool way to begin to understand what elements contribute to who each version of Conner Kent really is. I think it’s clear from how I wrote this that I prefer the comic version, but there are definitely things that are fun to look at and think about with both.

if u read all of this UH thanks for listenin to me ramble! sorry if this is incomprehensibe!

#rainbowroadimpulse #sam writes #conner kent #superboy

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canary3d-obsessed · 4 years

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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 03

(Masterpost)(Previous Episode)

Warning: Spoilers for all 50 episodes!

Wei Wuxian demonstrates the purple nurple technique of the Jiang Clan

Should’ve Used Trivago

The Jiang Clan’s reservation got cancelled while they were on the road, so they are going to wander around this small inn for hours being fussed about it, rather than trying another inn. Yes they say the other inns are all full but…so is this one, now.

The Jin Clan sends an advance party to fancy up the inn for them.

Fuckboi Wei Wuxian

Wei Wuxian decides to use his considerable powers of prettiness to get them a room. He drops some poetry on Mianmian and brazenly flirts with her before shifting to properly introducing himself and asking for a room.

This actually works.

...until her boss shows up.

(Much much more after the cut!)

Worst Person // Best Jin

Jin ZIxuan is an ass and a snob.

I guess we have to give him credit for having a beautiful sidekick and never hitting on her, given that his dad is a rapist and one of his half-brothers is (reputedly) a sex pest and the other half brother is (definitely) an incest perp. But I feel like it doesn’t take much to be the best Jin of his or his father’s generation.

The Jin folks are snobs and talk about how great their fancy and expensive stuff is. It’s an interesting contrast with true connoisseur Nie Huaisang, who loves everything that is fine and beautiful and can quote stacks of poetry off the top of his head, but is not even a little bit of a snob.

This Tea Smells Like Farts

Ok, let’s talk about generation names in the Jin clan. Ru is the name for Jin Ling’s generation, hence his courtesy name Rulan. The name for the current generation is apparently Zi (子), because both Zixuan and his jerk cousin Zixun have that as their name. Sect Leader Jin Guangshan would seem to be using the generation name Guang, but then names his son Jin Guangyao so…the whole system breaks down.

Anyway, my point here is that even considering generation names, if I had a baby and named it Zixuan, and my sister-in-law promptly had a baby and named it Zixun, I would slap her.

Find you a lover who does not make you feel like this

Jin Zixuan is mildly intrigued by his betrothed, and expresses it by being rude to her in front of Wei Wuxian, starting a chain of events that will culminate with Wen Ning’s fist going all the way through Jin Zixuan’s chest.

Side Note: Look at these young Jiang Brothers and their casual shoulder hugs. Sigh.

Wei Wuxian’s Combat PlayBook

When Wei Wuxian wants to throw down, he starts with smack talk, moves along to boundary crossing, then to direct threats, and then brings out a weapon if he hasn’t won already.

Here he starts shit with Jin Zixuan by complaining at him for taking up too much space and having too many sycophants. Then he goes for the unwelcome shoulder touch.

Having been sufficiently provocative to get someone to draw a sword and threaten him with physical violence, he shifts to formal verbal sparring.

This gets the other guy to back down, because even at this age no-one actually wants to tangle with Wei Wuxian, and Wei Wuxian gets to claim the moral advantage, although he still doesn’t get to keep his hotel room.

Actually Not A Fan of My Sister’s Betrothal

Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli have the first of many, many moments of heterosexual ineptitude together. Wei Wuxian quickly rescues them.

Hi, I’m Young Master Cockblock.

Neither of the boys understands what Yanli sees in Zixuan and neither do I, at this juncture. He does improve later after multiple beatings from Wei Wuxian.

This Is The Day Your Life Will Surely Change

Yanli’s encounter in the Inn is the first step toward the inexorable end of the three of them as a unit, although it’s still a long ways off. They are all growing up and she and Wei Wuxian are both going to fall in love at summer camp, like in a 1980s teen movie but without the virginity betting (presumably).

Meanwhile poor Jiang Cheng is going to be swept along just trying to keep up with events, which becomes the story of his life for the next two decades.

Welcome to Transylvania

We meet Wen Ruohan. He is boring and he sucks. Also I’m summarizing the Transylvania parts out of order because they break up the rhythm of the story. And are boring and suck.

We meet Xue Yang. He seems nice.

Wen Ruohan’s living room is like a shitty nightclub where everyone is too drunk to dance except Xue Yang.

Dee Jay: Undead undead undead, Bela Lugosi’s dead

[OP can’t get a video to embed in this post with looping enabled, so the alternate version of this joke has its own post right here. That will teach OP to get fancy.]

Anyhoo

We meet Wen Qing. She is the bestest most wonderful girl in the world but this isn’t actually when we find that out.

Right now we just find out that she is absurdly pretty, that she loves her brother deeply, and that she is helping Wen Ruohan with his “take over the world by murdering cultivators” project. OKAY, PROBLEMATIC, BUT SHE IS THE BESTEST GIRL OKAY?

Gatekeeping

The Jiang Clan don’t get another inn but they do manage to change into immaculate white robes while they’re out on the street, so - nice work, Jiang Clan. Be free!

They get stuck outside the gate because they don’t know that the secret to getting into Cloud Recesses is to set the gate guard on fire.

Walking Thirst Trap Hanguang-Jun

Lan Wangji shows up and everyone except Yanli, who is already in love with Sir Golden Pants, makes thirst faces at him. Including Jiang Cheng tho he will never admit it. One girl in the background is actually biting her knuckle.

Note: Lan Wangji knows exactly how fine he is. Look at his fucking hairstyle.

He is sixteen years old. The only person in the entire cultivation world with fancier hair is Nie Mingjue, and that’s because he indulges his dìdi’s braiding hobby.

Wei Wuxian loudly stage whispers that LWJ is their key to getting in and LWJ is is like, not fucking likely, person I didn’t glance at yet.

But then Wei Wuxian says a smart cultivator thing about the puppet dude, and Lan Wangji turns around and has the first of many long mutual staring sessions with this boy he totally isn’t going to like at all.

Jiang Cheng has a bad feeling about the future: a 2-frame gif

Unrelated gardening note: the red-crack puppet is more commonly grown in Gusu and Dafan, while the black-line puppet is native to Yiling

I Must Arrange a Date with this Uninteresting Boy

The rest of the evening is a series of tests that Lan Wangji puts Wei Wuxian through. Wei Wuxian doesn’t know this and Lan Wangji probably doesn’t exactly know it either.

First he sends WWX back to town to get the invitation. Yes, go get it. Not your entourage; YOU, talky person who thinks he can manipulate me and is smart and looks...intriguing. Go find it and come back.

When Wei Wuxian complains, Lan Wangji silences him, which is literally the most boss move he could have used on smooth talking Wei Wuxian.

You tried, Fuckboi.

Would you like to try some more because I think I would like you to try some more

Jiang Cheng is the Better Baby Brother

Sorry, he just is. Wei Wuxian is all about being taken care of and adoring Yanli without actually doing much for her. Jiang Cheng is the one who thinks about her feelings and giving her what she needs, even to the point of arranging that wedding rehearsal dinner so she can be with her favorite brother again -- the favorite who isn’t him, much as she also loves him.

Date Test 1: Can You Get In.

Once Wei Wuxian is definitely gone, Lan Wangji shows up again and collects the entire retinue, guaranteeing that Wei Wuxian will be stranded outside the gate when he gets back. LWJ doesn’t wait by the gate; he goes and waits up on the roof instead of going to bed or whatever else he’s supposed to be doing. Because he already knows the route Wei Wuxian will be taking.

Wei Wuxian passes the “get in through the wards” test with no problem besides a minor headache and bent fingers.

Is that Xiao Zhan’s hand or did they use a double-jointed hand model?

Date Test 2: Fight Me (Lan Wangji’s Combat Playbook)

As soon as Wei Wuxian shows up on the roof, Lan Wangji picks a fight with him.

LWJ fights all the time; he’s perfectly comfortable when he’s fighting and it’s a good venue for him to express himself. His style is graceful and aggressive.

Attack attack attack strike a pose, vogue, you know it.

He starts by going all in on swordplay, but that doesn’t gain him the advantage; Wei Wuxian fends him off without ever drawing his sword. Which is probably the hottest thing that has ever happened to Lan Wangji in his young life.

Do you like me better when I’m horizontal?

Next Lan Wangji deploys the pettiness by breaking WWX’s wine. Then when Wei Wuxian starts insulting him he upgrades to next level pettiness by dropping another silence spell, this time with the added bonus of preventing WWX from drinking.

Wei Wuxian’s Combat Playbook, Redux

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian is running his own fight routine, starting with a charm attack, which doesn’t work at all.

Are you admiring the moon?

He keeps trying to de-escalate for the first phase of their fight, until they reach a pause and he reflects that Lan Wangji has real skills. As soon as he makes that determination he goes on the offensive - with words.

He very formally says he’s too busy to continue fighting, and turns away, which is a pretty solid roast when you say it to someone who’s been trying really hard to kick your ass. Then he continues defending easily until Lan Wangji uses the wine against him.

At this point the gloves come off, with Lan Wangji lecturing Wei Wuxian, Wei Wuxian making ad hominem attacks, Lan Wangji forcibly shutting him up...

...and then throwing him on the floor in front of Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen.

Sincere Grief for the Death of our Colleague

Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen feel really bad for their disciple who has been horribly turned into an undead creature. Ha ha j/k

Date Test 3: Face the Authorities

Lan Wangji gets to pick Wei Wuxian’s punishment. This probably won’t awaken anything in him.

Surprise surprise, Wei Wuxian actually passes the Authority test with flying colors. Lan Qiren doesn’t like him, but listens respectfully to his thoughts about the undead cultivator. And Lan Xichen clearly does like him.

When Wei Wuxian learns that Lan Wangji was nice to his sister, his entire demeanor changes, to such an enormous degree that Lan Wangji starts to run away.

He’s not going to let this boy (who has passed all the tests oh no he passed all the tests) make out with him in front of his family like he is obviously planning.

But once again, Wei Wuxian’s cultivation knowledge captures Lan Wangji’s attention and breaks through his reserve.

This Hardy Boys moment is the beginning of their cultivation partnership.

Lan Wangji is brave but is extremely constrained: by the authorities in his life and by his own rigid reserve. Wei Wuxian is brave and is also free. His companionship gives Lan Wangji an opportunity to engage with a much broader range of the things that interest him than he’s ever had before.

After Wei Wuxian has been sent to bed, Lan Wangji stands outside and -- just as WWX had suggested at the beginning of their date/fight -- admires the moon, with an expression that’s anything but upset.

Sure, sex is cool (probably), but have you ever analyzed a walking corpse with a beautiful boy in the moonlight?

If you’ve got your true honey Life can be pretty funny If you've got money, money to burn Rooty toot toot for the moon It's the biggest star I've ever seen

The Fine-as-Hell Brothers

Alone together, Lans Xichen and Wangji talk over the various things on their minds.

Xichen: What the fuck is up with you? ...Rooftop fights and dropping spells on boys?

Wangji: You and uncle were ignoring me so I was making my own fun

Xichen: Yeah, we are dealing with this zombie situation; shit’s going to hit the fan

Wangji: what are you going to do about it?

Xichen: fuck-all

Wangji: Well, you can rely on me

Xichen: I totally do. So how about you get to know this Wei kid, he seems like a fun ride.

Wangji: *death glare*

Xichen: You know, since Dad died you’ve become even more uptight. I wonder if I’ve been too strict with you?

Wangji: Um, you think? 3000 fucking rules, dude. Fortunately I’m not going to go off the rails and fall in love with my polar opposite and cause havoc in the cultivation world or anything like that.

Xichen: good, me neither

Outtro

Writing prompt: Lan Xichen’s secret nightly letter to his Mom’s memory or spirit (your choice), in which he confides in her about his day. May be written in flute solo form.

(As always if you use this prompt feel free to post a link to your fic in comments!)

Soundtrack: 1. This Is The Day by The The 2. Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Bauhaus 3. Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon, Greg Brown version 4. Madonna, Vogue

Bonus: FineAsHell-Jun

Episode 04 Restless Rewatch coming soon!

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kingangelrose · 3 years

Text

RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 9 Recap

“Witch” ------------

While the Atlas military hold there own against Salem’s forces of Grimm, Team Yang manages to go into the Grimm Whale. Their mission is to find Oscar before the Ace Ops plant the bomb in, Ren says that ever since it happened on Winter’s airship, he can sense shards of people’s emotions if he focuses his aura.

Ren says that he can tell where the emotions are, but not from whom, his guess was they were more or less in the same area further in the Whale, saying that he will lead, but then Jaune stops him for minute, saying that he doesn’t have to drain himself, and that he can help out too, Ren agrees and thanks Jaune as he leads the way to find Oscar.

Speaking of Oscar, he told Ozpin tales that Ozpin was familiar with, not being surprised that he knows his fair share of fairy tales, in which Ozpin says that he has lived through his fair share of them. Oscar then says to Ozpin.... “I thought the idea of falling through Remnant into a new world was exciting, I never understood was she was so sad when she made it back home, but now it makes more sense...” - Oscar Pine “She wasn’t the same girl anymore...” - Ozpin Ozpin then says that the plan to divide themselves as taken its course and it was time for them to figure a way out, saying that without their cane, it limits there options. However, Oscar says that he doesn’t like when he uses magic, saying that he can feel him and Ozpin merging faster every time he uses it and he is not ready for it, Ozpin says that he doesn’t blame and he says that he’s doing fine on his own. Just then, Hazel arrives to take Oscar somewhere, grabbing him by the collar.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Winter gave the orders to the military troops and Team FNKI who joined the fight, that their objective is basically form a path for the bomb to be planted into the whale by taking down as much Grimm as possible. Neon then asks Flynt if he knows a tune for this battle, but Flynt says that he doesn’t know that anybody does, as Team FNKI and the soldiers were off to the battlefield to fight, Marrow then says that Team FNKI are just kids, then Elm arrives beside him, telling him to hash out his issues later and kill the Grimm for now, as she goes back to the battlefield to join in the fight.

Hazel brings Oscar to where the Lamp Relic is, Oscar asks Hazel why he brought him there, Hazel replies by saying he thought about what he said, saying that if his word was a lie, the punishment from Salem would fall his ehad before Oscar, but if it was the truth and uses the password for himself, he won’t know what will happen if the lamp activates, so he wants to see if Oscar is bluffing, saying that either way, it will tell him what he needs to know.

Emerald arrives asking Hazel what he was doing, and Hazel says that he’s going to find out as Oscar gets up and says the phrase “Jinn”, activating the relic and summoning Jinn from it, which surprised Hazel and Emerald. Jinn asks Oscar if he had a question for her, then Hazel said that his question was answered due to this confirmation, Oscar asks Hazel what he was going to do, in which Hazel replied by saying what his sister, Gretchen would’ve done, and that’s getting both away from Salem and the whale, Jinn asks if anyone has a question for her, Oscar says that they don’t, but they will bring her with them.

Hazel then brings up that the moment the lamp is gone, the entire place goes on high alert, and it would better to get Oscar and Emerald out first, afterwards, he’ll come back for it, seeing as though Salem doesn’t know the password anyway. The three exited the room, but unknowingly to them, Neo was camouflaged herself the whole time and after they left, she walked towards the lamp.

Team Yang continued their search for Oscar, Jaune starts to weaken after strengthening Ren’s semblance, Jaune suggested to Ren that he can take a break from masking and give Jaune directions so he can see what’s up ahead, Ren agrees with this and tells him to go straight, Jaune goes off to scout ahead. Yang jokingly says to Ren that him and Jaune being friends again takes the sting out of impending doom, Ren then says to Yang that it’s okay to be afraid, Yang then says she glad she isn’t the only one who is, Ren says that he’s afraid too, but says that Jaune doesn’t have any fear in him, saying that Jaune believes that they will get it done, Yang smiles and says she will believe too.

Suddenly, Jaune runs back to Yang and Ren, signalling them to hide as the Seeing Eye Grimm was floating towards them, Ren masks his, Jaune and Yang’s auras, but his aura was so depleted, their auras were getting unmasked, the Seeing Eye found them out, but Team Yang was ready for fight.

“Hazel” then asks Emerald if she is sure that Mercury will be okay on his own, Emerald replies by saying she doesn’t know, but then she stops her and “Hazel” in her tracks, as Salem was approaching. Salem then asks “Hazel” if he had acquired the password, but “Hazel” hesitated to answer, Salem then sensed Team Yang’s presence, she then realizes that they could be after the lamp, ordering “Hazel” and Emerald to find them, as she dashes away.

Team Yang were fighting against the guard Grimm, Yang then tells Jaune and Ren to do what they do best, charging blindly into danger, Jaune was going to say “keep moving forward”, but that works too, Ren then says they will move forward, no matter what, as they charged ahead to find their friend.

Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, the Ace Ops, Team FNKI and the Atlas soldiers were holding their own against the Grimm, Harriett asks Winter how much longer til the payload gets there, Winter says that it’s headed to the checkpoint as the airship carrying it as well as ships around it were arriving, Marrow looks back at the whale and could only hope that Team Yang gets out in time.

Team Yang ran into “Hazel” and Emerald, ready to fight them, but “Hazel” asked them to wait and then Emerald cuts off her illusion and it was actually Oscar who was made to look like Hazel because of it.

Jaune gave Oscar a big hug, happy to see him again, but then Emerald cut the reunion short as she said she sensed some weak minds near by, Jaune asked what she was doing there, Oscar said it was long story, but Yang then tells him to summarize that statement and asks Emerald why should they trust her, Ren then says because she’s scared, just like they are, Emerald then tells them that she knows away out of the whale as she leads them to the way.

Back at the battlefield, the bomb was ready to deploy as Winter tells the soldiers that they are going to clear a path to the Grimm Whale, getting the bomb aboard, setting the timer and getting out before it detonates, the soldiers salutes and walk off in battle. Marrow tells them that Team Yang might still be alive in there, Winter says that she gave them their time limit and that they can’t wait any longer, Marrow then asks if she would say that same thing if it was Weiss in there and asks if she’s going to tell her what she did to her friends, Winter then turns around and says that she would, because that is her duty and that Marrow needs to do his, with a sad expression, Marrow had no choice but to agree.

Team Yang and Emerald were almost out of the whale, but suddenly, the entire whale shook, stopping them in there tracks, just then a sound wave sounds and Salem bursts through the walls, angry.

Salem grabs Emerald, holding her from behind, saying that she has been really honing her semblance, Ren shoots at Salem, but it has no effect at Salem blasts them away with her magic. Yang then charges at Salem with a fury of punches, sticking the detonation beads onto Salem’s torso, when she detonated them, Salem’s torso explodes, but then Salem stretches her Grimm arm, pulling Yang towards her as she regenerates her torso.

Oscar uses his magic to make Salem let go of Yang and Emerald, but it had no effect as Salem through Yang at Oscar and then uses her powers to trap Team Yang to the ground and Emerald to the wall, so that she’ll question her about what she did with the lamp, Emerald said she didn’t do anything with it, Salem interrogates her more, saying that it’s missing, as she puts her magical orb close to Emerald’s face. Salem then lifts Oscar up by the underground Grimm arms, then walks towards him...

“Look how you’ve diminished....how you’ve lessened yourself and for what? These children...? This ruined world...?” - Salem

Salem then grabs Oscar’s face with an angry expression and says... “Why do you keep coming back...?!” - Salem. “Why do you...?! All of this endless death...because something bad happened to you once upon a time?! Nobody gets a fairy tale ending....Everything I’ve lost...Every person I’ve lost...is because of you!” - Yang Xiao Long Salem walks towards a bounded Yang and asks her... “..And who is it I’ve taken from you, girl...?” - Salem “ Summer Rose! My Mom!” - Yang Xiao Long Salem smiles and just says... “Her again...” - Salem

Hazel arrives beside a bounded Emerald, Salem releases Oscar and orders Hazel to take him back to the chamber while she deals with Emerald, whom was crying at the thought of being hurt by Salem. Hazel walks towards Oscar while looking at a bounded Team Yang, lifts Oscar up by the collar and whispers in his ear... “No more Gretchens, boy...” - Hazel Rainart Hazel handed Oscar his cane and then he charges and strikes Salem with brute force, Salem was shocked and angry as she flew into the air with wind powers, causing her to let go Team Yang and Emerald. Hazel yells at them all to escape as he takes his shirt off and puts dust crystals of all elements into his body, ready to fight Salem, he turns to Emerald and with a smile tells her to go. Salem with a smile, ready to fight, asks Hazel if he’s decided against vengeance for his sister, Gretchen, after all that time, then Hazel with fire in this fists says... “I’m doing what Gretchen would have done!” - Hazel Rainart

The battle was on between Salem and Hazel, with magic and elemental projectiles shot at each other from afar, Hazel used a light dust crystal to launch himself into the air, then uses his powers to create a earth made energy ball to strike down Salem, then uses his strength to strike her while she was down, it had looked like he was about to win, but shockingly, a faceless Salem, bounded up above her.

Jaune led Yang, Ren and Emerald to the way out, but Oscar stayed, saying to Jaune that Salem will just go after them.

Salem shoots a magic beam at Hazel, but even bounded, Hazel managed to use dust to shield himself, but then Salem throws him across to a wall, then goes and slams his head to the ground numerous of times. Oscar was there to confront Salem, and when Salem was close to striking him, Hazel grabbed Salem from behind, Salem from underneath him, bounded him with Grimm arms again, but then, Hazel used a fire dust crystal from inside his mouth to set himself and Salem on fire, without letting go, giving Oscar the chance to strike. Hazel tells Oscar to do it and although he hesitated, he used his magic to strike Salem along with Hazel.

---------- What a turn of events!

Did Hazel survive Oscar’s attack and defeat Salem momentarily or was this the noble sacrifice of the warrior known as Hazel? Will Ironwood’s plan to detonate the Whale Grimm be successful? What of Marrow? Will he still be apart of this war? Will Winter still have loyalty to Ironwood no matter the costs?

Can Team Yang still be able trust Emerald after she helped them escape? Will Emerald warned Cinder about Salem before it’s too late?

So many questions with only five chapters left, what changes will we see from someone good or bad?

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beneaththetangles · 3 years

Text

Light Novel Club Chapter 32: The Faraway Paladin, Vol. 1

Welcome to our Light Novel Club discussion of The Faraway Paladin, Vol. 1! We’ve got a fairly unique light novel to discuss this time around, and this is a great time to discuss it, with an anime adaptation coming up soon and also the recent announcement of hardcover print editions for the series. So let’s jump into the discussion!

Joining Jeskai Angel and I is marthaurion, one of the members of the Beneath the Tangles Discord! This is a reminder that all Light Novel Club discussions are held on the public Beneath the Tangles Discord and anyone can join these discussions, so if you want to join future discussions, check us out over there.

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1. What are your overall thoughts on the novel?

Jeskai Angel: The pacing was a little slow at times, but overall I enjoyed this light novel. Also, it bugs me that I can’t narrow down a specific reason, but this story felt strangely old, like I might have picked it up at the public library back in 1998. I’ve written before about how I think Unnamed Memory doesn’t “feel” like a typical light novel, and I experienced a similar sensation with Faraway Paladin, though I don’t think it was for the same reasons (e.g., how magic works is actually explained quite a bit in Faraway Paladin).

stardf29: Maybe it’s because the author took inspiration from traditional tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, as opposed to video game RPGs like “typical” fantasy light novels?

Jeskai Angel: Ooh, that’s possible! It’s not exactly “You all meet in a tavern,” levels of DnD tropey-ness, but I can definitely see the DnD resemblance now that you point it out.

stardf29: This was definitely an interesting read that is quite different from the usual isekai light novel. It does feel a bit slow-paced because a lot of the beginning is so focused on Will simply growing up with his “parents” and learning about the world. That said, that kind of start is nice every once in a while; it is kind of like Mushoku Tensei in that regard. The worldbuilding is great because of it, and the conflict against the god of undeath is nice, too.

Beyond that, I do like how this story delves into various themes that are worth thinking about. It’s a nice, thoughtful light novel, and as much as I like my brainless fun light novels, having something like this is good for a balanced light novel diet.

2. What are your thoughts on the characters?

Jeskai Angel: By far, my favorite aspect of this story was the active role the gods played. It actually sort of resembles my favorite aspect of Spice and Wolf in that regard. In most light novels, either there’s no evidence gods are real, or they are deistic watchmakers who jump-start the story by isekai-ing the MC but thereafter take a hands-off approach to the setting, or they are benign comic relief. The biggest exceptions I can think of are Invaders of the Rokujouma!? and Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, plus Tearmoon Empire (which, thus far, has strongly-implied-but-not-explicitly-confirmed divine intervention).

I think one way to summarize this volume is that it’s the story of someone (Will) coming to know and put his faith in a loving deity (Gracefeel). Since learning about the Lord and then choosing to devote oneself to him is fundamental to being a Christian, it’s actually kind of a relatable process. Gracefeel, as a character, walks a fine line, managing to be knowable while remaining mysterious. She’s not just a human with superpowers, but neither is she a total enigma. She’s also a rare truly benevolent god; her power is finite, but she consistently seeks to use it for good.

Stagnate was…peculiar. Like, if the author had added a line about Stagnate twirling his mustache while cackling evilly, it would have fit right in; he acts almost ostentatiously villainous. At the same time he, doesn’t feel quite as “evil” as he acts. He DID help with sealing away the demon king, and even if he had an ulterior motive, that doesn’t entirely invalidate the goodness of aiding the struggle against the demon king. Then there’s issue of death. Stagnate isn’t wrong to see death a Bad Thing (TM). I got the the sense that he really had at least somewhat good intentions behind his flawed approach to the problem of death. Even his nefarious scheme to ensnare Blood and Mary consisted of…arranging for them to raise the child they’d always longed for. Like, as far as villainous plans go, “Give a childless couple a baby so they can shower him with love” isn’t actually all that fiendish. I can’t be too hard on Stagnate if that’s the best he can do for an “evil” plan.

marthaurion: For what it’s worth, I don’t really think I got the same impression of stagnate as being overtly evil, but maybe I wasn’t focusing on that at the time. From what I read, it seemed like his motivations were rooted in a concept that made sense, but his implementation ultimately brings him at odds with others.

stardf29: I have to agree that Stagnate is not so much “intentionally evil” as much as a sort of “well-intentioned extremist”. I think it’s interesting that Stagnate was originally a “good” god, but would later “stray from that path”; it shows that, putting the initially “evil” gods aside, the gods are not actual moral paragons and are indeed falliable. I’ll have more to say on this in a later question.

Jeskai Angel: Will was surprisingly relatable. The way he described himself, I got the impression that he suffered some real trauma which caused depression or anxiety or some other form of mental ill health, and as one commonly sees in anime / light novels, he never got adequate psychological / psychiatric treatment for it. I also appreciate that his past-life memories were important yet not intrusive. By that, I mean that the story spend a bunch time dwelling on Will’s efforts to replicate modern technology, business practices, or Japanese food culture the way so many isekai protagonists do. That sort of thing is sometimes done well, but other times just feels like a cookie cutter isekai trope. Memories from his past are both inspiring and useful for Will, but they can only carry him so far, something he explicitly notes when talking about how Gus’s lessons eventually surpassed his past-life education level.

Will eventually does end up as an OP Isekai Protagonist (TM), but it feels “earned” in a narrative sense. He puts forth a ton of effort to reach the point of being OP, and even then, it’s not just efforts that make it possible. He never could have reached the point he did without all the care and teaching Blood, Mary, and Gus give him. Mater and Gracefeel also contribute to what he becomes. He isn’t just handed phenomenal cosmic power from the start.

marthaurion: For my impression of will, it was hard for me not to draw parallels to Mushoku Tensei, since both protagonists come from that similar thought of feeling like they want to make something more of themselves in their new lives. It’s hard not to feel like Will’s reincarnation is more of an afterthought whenever it comes up, whereas Rudy’s reincarnation seems to more actively inform many of his decisions. Ultimately, it seems like Will’s reincarnation is mostly meant to tie him to Gracefeel. To be fair, i think this is fine, but the other attempts to tie back to his old life don’t really hit home for me.

Also, I would agree that will’s abilities definitely feel earned, in spite of what I said earlier about how I compare him to Rudy.

It’s more of a commentary on how the reincarnation aspect ties into things.

Jeskai Angel: I haven’t read the Jobless Reincarnation light novels, and only watched the first few episodes before dropping the recent anime adaptation. That said…the big contrast I saw between Will and Rudy is that the former is a relatively good person and the latter is a relatively awful one. I got the distinct sense that Rudy, was a Jabba-the-Hutt-like sleazeball in his previous life, AND that he carried over his perverted habits into his reincarnated life. In that regard, at least, Rudy didn’t even seem to be trying to do better than in his previous life. Perhaps I’m off base in this, and Rudy wasn’t as bad as in his first life as the anime made him seem, or perhaps he eventually turns better in his second life. I just know that in terms of comparisons, I found Will vastly more sympathetic and likeable.

marthaurion: Is that so wrong? Even if I don’t have the same traits, I can respect that Rudy carries over parts of his identity while working past some of the traumas that held him back.

stardf29: Regarding Will, honestly, I don’t really have anything to add here that Jeskai hasn’t already said. I like how his past life memories have enough of an effect on his current self that you’re curious what his past life was life, but not so much that I want the story to actually explain it, leaving that in the realm of fascinating mystery.

Jeskai Angel: I appreciated how each of Blood, Mary, and Gus contributed something irreplaceable to Will’s upbringing. They were well balanced, and had a fun rapport with each other. I also thought it was a fun touch how the story emphasized that some of their knowledge was dated and they don’t really know anything about the current state of the world. I can’t help but suspect all three are some kind of allusion to Christianity, due to in their names. First, having a woman named Mary who ends up with a baby through unnatural means is…not remotely subtle. And once you’ve introduced that, the names of the other two start to seem suspiciously coincidental. “Blood” is in fact a very important thing in Christianity (e.g., the Lord’s Supper / Eucharist). And Gus isn’t in the Bible by his nickname, but “Augustus” (of the Caesar variety) does get a shout-out in Luke 2:1.

stardf29: Man, Blood, Mary, and Gus are great. They are such a great parental trio, with each of them having aspects that are different from each other that allow them to balance each other out, which overall makes them quite good at raising Will. It definitely made me sad that their time with Will ultimately had to come to an end. And I definitely found the use of “Mary” for the mother’s name strangely familiar…

Someone took some creative liberties with their nativity display.

3. What do you think about the setting/worldbuilding in this volume?

Jeskai Angel: Now that you’ve said it, the worldbuilding and setting seem clearly inspired by tabletop RPGs (or video games closely based on tabletop RPGs, like Baldur’s Gate or something), which in turn drew from older western fantasy works (from Greek mythology to Tolkien). It contains a lot of traditional elements, and the end result is something that in one sense feels creative and unusual compared to typical fantasy light novels, but in another sense more derivative than many other fantasy light novels. That is, light novels that don’t draw so heavily on traditional fantasy have room to sometimes do some really interesting things, whereas Faraway Paladin never completely loses that familiar “I think I might have read this in the ’90s” vibe I mentioned before.

marthaurion: I really liked how magic was presented in this world. It feels more grounded to think of it as something that isn’t guaranteed to succeed in a general sense. With that presentation, Gus’s philosophy of choosing words that have the safest failures rather than the most effective successes makes a lot of sense. It truly makes magic feel like a feat of intelligence, rather than just a question of how well you can time or aim the spell, as is the general impression in other fantasy settings.

As for the pantheon, I’m less familiar with kind of the “official” pantheons for D&D, so I didn’t immediately draw that parallel. I felt the similarities to Greek/Roman mythology a lot more strongly when I was reading, where the gods are just presented as very powerful beings that preside over processes.

stardf29: As mentioned before, the current highlight of the worldbuilding is in the gods and how they relate to the people of the world. I do like how the worldbuilding is presented over time, as if we are learning about it alongside Will. This is especially notable since this first volume only takes place in a small area geographically, so there’s still a lot of world for us to learn as Will explores outside the city of the dead.

Also, I like how magic in this world works. It’s not just “oh yeah people can use magic,” nor is it too videogame-like or overly “scientific”. There’s a greater sense of mystique thanks to the connection to the “Words of Creation”, and even Will himself mentions it’s more like classic fantasy novels in this way.

Now, about those gods. As I mentioned before, the “good” and “evil” designation of gods is not static, and that does make me wonder a few things. For one, what exactly defines what makes a god “good” or “evil”? Gus does say at one point that he considers those designations something that their followers, i.e. the people, decided, and that makes me curious as to the greater religious sociology of this world. It also makes me wonder if there are any cases where an “evil” god ends up being more “good”…

4. What connections does this volume’s story have with our Christian faith?

Jeskai Angel: The conflicting divine approaches to death provide fascinating contrasts with the third possibility Christianity teaches. Gracefeel represents reincarnation with no memories. Life ends in death, but then restarts from scratch. In this system, a soul is basically an Etch A Sketch, getting erased & reused over & over. I find this a deeply unsatisfying concept because it makes one’s life meaningless. It doesn’t matter what you do, eventually you’ll die & get erased & nothing about you will carry over. This approach leaves no room for reward or judgment. It actually reminds me a bit of some of my issues the versions of predestination/election found in some circles of Christianity, in that by say God absolutely predetermines the outcome, they risk making this life meaningless.

Stagnate has beef with this, & thus offers undeath as an alternative to reincarnation. Your identity won’t get erased, but you’ll be stuck as some damaged or half-destroyed version of yourself (e.g., a skeleton, zombie, or ghost) that isn’t truly alive. By offering some degree of continuity, Stagnate’s undeath does have an advantage over Gracefeel’s soul recycling bin. Unfortunately, it’s rightly called ‘undeath,” not “life.” The solution to death needs to be life, so in that respect Gracefeel’s approach has an edge over Stagnate’s.

Finally, there’s Christianity, promising a transformative bodily resurrection. Gracefeel & Stagnate only have workarounds to the problem of death; they can’t do anything about death itself. On the other hand, in the person of Jesus, Life directly challenges & overcomes death. In the resurrection, we will still be ourselves in some meaningful sense, unlike Gracefeel’s reincarnation. But unlike with Stagnate’s static, flawed imitation of life, we will be truly alive as transformed, perfected versions of ourselves. In short, the contrast between Gracefeel’s reincarnation & Stagnate’s undeath really drives home how awesome our Lord’s promise of resurrection is.

stardf29: So one of my favorite moments in the novel is when Mater protects Mary, and shows that Mary’s “punishment” was entirely self-inflicted, and that Mater had long forgiven her. It’s a good picture of grace, and how we can sometimes believe we are being “punished” by God, and perhaps even try to punish ourselves, even though God has already satisfied all need for “punishment” through Christ’s death. Sure, we have to deal with consequences of our actions, but that is not some kind of divine judgment.

Now, this story’s theological worldbuilding is based on the idea that “if good is created, then evil must be created to balance it”. There’s also how Will feels like he needs to fear death in order to feel like he truly is living, in opposition to Stagnate who wants to remove death entirely. It’s this idea of “balance” that I think comes from one of the major Eastern religions (will have to do some more research on this) and is fairly popular in fantasy works. It’s certainly a nice-sounding idea, but I think Christianity shows how we can look forward to a future without death, and not feel like we’re “missing” something because of that.

The contrast with Stagnate, as Jeskai pointed out, is particularly helpful because it shows that eternal life, separated from God and His perfect design for life, is pretty crappy. (And I have to agree that Gracefeel’s reincarnation of souls feels rather empty.)

=====

Thank you for checking out our discussion on The Faraway Paladin, Vol. 1! The series is available digitally from J-Novel Club if you want to buy this volume or any later volumes for yourself, with a hardcover print edition planned for release in March 2022.

Discussion on our next Light Novel Club title, Tearmoon Empire Vol. 4, has started on the Beneath the Tangles Discord! The discussion will be open throughout the month of August, so there’s still time to read the series and join our discussion.

If you want to prepare for the novels we are discussing later in the year: In September 2021, we will be discussing Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 1! And if you want to know what we are discussing in October 2021… we will be discussing the next novel in the “Rascal Does Not Dream…” series, Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai!

#Light Novels #Christianity #The Faraway Paladin #Saihate no Paladin #BtT Light Novel Club #Articles #Author: Jeskai Angel #Author: stardf29 #Author: marthaurion

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m39 · 3 years

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Doom WADs’ Roulette Bonus Round: Obituary (1995)

Well… Guess what retard finally managed to play this WAD after realizing that he’s supposed to play all of the WAD files AND all of the DEH files at the same time?!

B1: Obituary (1995)

Main author(s): The Innocent Crew

Release date: May 14th, 1995 (archives)

Version(s) played: Fixed version of 1.1 version, created by Andy Olivera. Played with custom weapons.

Levels: 17(16 + 1)

Welcome folks to the first part of a special Doom WADs’ Roulette branch, where I will be reviewing WADs related to the main ones from the DoomWorld’s list but couldn’t fit into the main show due to their oddity. We will start however with the one that was supposed to be reviewed in the main shitshow, but, again due to my idiocy about forgetting the DEH files, couldn’t run properly. But I’ve finally played it properly… It was fun most of the time, so I consider it all worth it.

Disclamer: Most of the screenshots were made many months ago when I was looking for secrets.

Obituary looks very good. Sure, maybe it doesn’t really look that mind-blowing for me since I already played the best WADs of ’96, but shove a hoe into my ears, it looks pretty dope! I liked how there are some textures from the Möller brothers’ previous work, that is Slaughter Until Death (fun little fact: one of the levels is called the same), and The Evil Unleashed. Overall, the new, custom textures add some beauty to this WAD. Then again, what can say? I like me some custom textures in WADs if it’s done right.

The levels seem to be easy to understand. I can’t speak fully about them since it was my first proper playthrough, and it was a long time ago when I was making secrets run, so the levels were, most of the time, pretty confusing (Nuclear Research Base might be the biggest case in it). The first fourth of the main levels was when I had the worst time with Obituary due to the game-breaking bugs, but I’ll talk about it later. Also, some of the levels seem to be more co-op-focused. You might want to know that.

There is an optional weapon patch that I had played with as I mentioned above. Four of the vanilla weapons are changed.

Starting with the ones that are just cosmetic changes, you now carry two pistols instead of one. I’ve read somewhere that they fire faster than the vanilla Pistol but I didn’t notice any difference.

BFG is replaced with something called Sonic P300 Booster, which, instead of a big, green plasma ball, it fires an invisible sonic wave of destruction.

You are now kicking instead of punching. The kick seems to be slightly faster than the punch from what I’ve noticed.

The biggest change is with the Plasma Gun, being replaced with the Flamethrower. Its range is very short but the damage is at least around twice more powerful than the vanilla weapon. So basically it functions closely to the Flamethrower from All Hell is Breaking Loose.

…

I feel like it won’t be the last time that we will see a flamethrower.

Obituary tends to be hard in some places. Especially at the beginning when you have limited amount of ammo and weapons, but after like the first few levels, it gets easier. As I said, while it can be hard sometimes, it’s not some of the harder WADs I’ve finished.

There are three new enemies that will try (and fail) to make your life miserable.

The first one on the list is the Harder Imp, which is basically an Imp that fires the Hell Nobles’ green fireball. It replaces Hell knights. It still has the same amount of health as a regular Imp, but I believe it’s better to shoot him with the Super Shotgun instead of the regular one due to the damage it can deal.

The second monster is the Bazooka Man that replaces regular Imps. As the name suggests, he carries a rocket launcher. It might sound deadly to you, and it is, but thankfully his wind-up is big enough to know that he’s about to shoot you when you notice him. Sometimes he kills himself and/or other monsters nearby by accident with one of his rockets.

The last enemy is called the Hightech Guy, replacing the SS-men. A medieval armor-wearing fuck head with two pistols/machine guns that is semi-invisible when he’s not firing. Can be very annoying in the first level he’s introduced – Slaughter Until Death. After that, he’s much more manageable.

Now, remember when I said that the first fourth of Obituary was the worst part for me due to the bugs? Yeah, well, these bugs are really fucking annoying. In levels Entrance and The Church, there are bugs that will break the progress. In the former’s case, you won’t get the yellow key if you go through a walkway towards it (I think), and the gates to the room with two Mancubi and the exit switch won’t open (I don’t know if I forgot about one of the hidden switches or that one of these didn’t work properly but still). In the latter’s case, if the enemy behind one of the walls will open it, while you opened the wall first, it won’t open again, because the switch that opens the wall to the room with the switch to progress further only works once.

For these reasons, I felt soured during the beginning of playing Obituary. I thought that it will end with a massive disappointment. Luckily though, there weren’t any more bug encounters after the first fourth.

I don’t know if these bugs happened because of the fixed version I played, or because of the WAD itself, but still, prepare to noclip if it will happen.

To summarize my experience with Obituary, I’ll say this – As I said earlier, I had fun most of the time. This WAD is good, and it’s better than The Innocent Crew’s previous work (from what I can remember). I like how this WAD is more ambitious with its new monsters and weapons. So, to wrap it all up, I recommend Obituary, and I give it the overdue Platinum Revenant for the best WAD/MegaWAD with 10 to 20 maps of 1995.

Next up in my bonus line-up, some secret operations to do.

See you next time.

Bye!

#doom #Doom WAD #review #doom mod #Doom 2 #doom Obituary #Doom WADs’ Roulette #bonus round

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cowandcalf · 4 years

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10.12 – Review and Spoilers

and some I-got-carried-away thoughts on Steve's character – meta-ish and super long

I wasn't sure what to expect from this episode and I got rewarded with so many magnificent details, especially with a lot of wonderful glimpses into Steve's personality when he's competing with someone. And this said someone is not only a former team guy but this someone also drives a Ferrari and has an impressive reputation and is a hidden fan of a so-called Steve McGarrett. Magnum is such a big fan that even his own team he's working with nowadays has heard all about the legendary McGarrett moves and ops and stories. And that speaks of such a high respect Magnum has for Steve McGarrett that everything else just fades away. Magnum's respect and the honor he feels for being with Steve is real. There's this deep understanding that Steve's ready to accept at the end of the day. But only after Magnum has proved himself being worthy.

But I'm not there yet. Whoa, getting derailed so fast right from the start. So that's what I'm gonna write about most in this review: Steve and his attitude, the SEAL spirit and a bit about Magnum because he's the reason Steve acts the way he does. And I'll write about Danny, about the omnipresent, strong, gorgeous, leaving-visible-dents-in Steve's-emotional-armor presence of Danny energy. God, those references about Danny during the entire episode…I loved those! The way Steve's partner came up and was mentioned every now and then was just a blessing for my McDanno heart.

And Steve's response to Magnum's actions also speaks volumes about the relationship he has with Danny. I hope I can get it out the way I feel it. I hope, in the end, everything makes sense.

This episode is fun to watch, Steve and Magnum are all about Alpha moves, flexing muscles and showing off, trying to make an impression on the other man – in a very silent, kind of cautious, intelligent way, of course. Like the archaic animals, these men are deep inside, well-hidden. They must mark their territory. They need to check the other out before they even think about being appreciative of each other. At least, Steve acts this way. Magnum tries to wrap his mind around the fact that he's actually working a case with the human legend he's fanboying over for years, apparently.

I grew up with Tom Selleck as Magnum and his trademark, the mustache, the red Ferrari and his stupid tight blue jeans with the belt. Anyway, Magnum, in my inner world is a tree of a man, tall and super hairy and intimidating. Higgins is a whiny, rich, wobbly guy with two wonderful Doberman pinscher. And I just needed some time to get used to a smaller Magnum, with no hairy arms and legs and a female Higgins with an impressive, wonderful British accent. And even though the Magnum Pi guys did a great job, they didn't grow on me. I appreciate Magnum (the new one) for completely other reasons that have entirely to do with Steve and Danny.

Okay, we have the first encounter of the two teams. I have to emphasize another important observation and it's an ongoing feeling throughout the episode. The H50 team, the ohana bond and everything they talk about are so rich in colors, so vivid and alive and so full of honest feelings. That's how I get the vibes. Higgins and Magnum are nice…they are okay…but they didn't manage to leave an impression…and I'm sorry but I can't really make it work. Their banter seems stages, not really coming from inside and from a place of true fondness. It's…just not flowing. At least, not for me. No offense, but I can't make it work with Higgins and Magnum.

That said, seeing both teams meet just highlights the significant difference in the spirit everyone emanates. And all the H50 ohana breathes a huge amount of charisma and freaking great vibes. And I love that!

When the H50 team digests the information of Higgins who has been an ex-spy, Steve eyes her with a silent jolt in his behavior. He takes her in with that measured look and it just occurred to me that once again he's confronted with a special female species. Tough woman, working for an agency, has been a spy once and it reminds him instantly, alarmingly intense of two women who have played a significant role in his life: Steve's mother Doris and Catherine Rollins.

Steve mentions that he likes "this one", pointing to Higgins and he lets her talk but the moment that it's out she's an ex-spy Steve takes a step back inwardly and he gives her a quick all-over. That's a fascinating moment.

Magnum: "McGarrett, I know that name, you're a team guy, right? I was a team guy, too."

And Steve's answer to that, completely flabbergasted: "Is that right?" (Because what the hell?)

Steve deals with the second, silent emotional blow within a few seconds. He's not prepared to meet a former SEAL. And because Steve's bound to every SEAL with a code of honor it's literally visible how his mind works overtime to get things right in his head. This Hawaiian-shirt-wearing-bare-legged-sun-tanned guy is a former SEAL?? And Steve's anyway a bit pissed because he got an anonymous tip from a male voice leading him in the right direction. And now, he's been told that it's this guy. Steve's not fond of such moments. And he stays skeptical although his inner conviction doesn't allow him to be distant. SEALs are brothers, no matter what.

There's more!

Steve warms up to Magnum. He addresses him as, "and you Mr. Private investigator you come with me."

Steve's forceful Alpha move number one is to convince Magnum somehow to let him drive the Ferrari. Okay, here's what I think about that.

It's about ranks and pack order. it's about the high respect Magnum has for Steve and because he's a brother, one of the reasons why legends get written. It's because of guys like McGarrett that legends live on. Because McGarrett is a freaking hero! And Magnum has no problem with all of this. He doesn't need to inflate his ego by fighting Steve. In fact, he understands Steve, he feels his brother and he lets him drive, bowing to the force of nature that is Steve McGarrett. Magnum pays respect to this man and honors his service just by this move. I might exaggerate a bit but seriously, that's how I see it.

And just for the record, Steve…oh well, Steve needs a boost for his ego. He needs to show that he's the Alpha and that's he has a say in this. He needs to know he wrestled Magnum into submission and is kind of blockhead, too busy to enjoy the moment and that he made it behind the steering wheel. He's so smug and confident and almost combusts with all the joy and the arousal to have his hands on the steering wheel of this freaking, awesome Ferrari-stud! Jesus! I know he's hard while he stomps the gas! Come on, Steve, admit it!

And Magnum has the freaking nerve to mention Danny (your partner) and tells Steve right to his face that Danny doesn't do well with riding always in the passenger's seat. But Steve's glowing and the hidden smile shines through when he confirms in this classical, smug way that Danny's okay with him driving Danny's car. That's almost the cutest thing ever.

Steve, dude!

And then, Christ! The 'white knight' conversation happens. I try to summarize this. Steve reads. He reads books written by former SEALs, or about the experiences of former SEALs.

Steve: "Entertaining but unrealistic though. There's no way a character that cocky would ever, ever make it through BUD/s."

He's seriously impressed that Magnum knows the author of that said book. In fact, Robin the author is Magnum's boss. And it gets better. The 'wight knight' has left an impression on Steve. Steve admires this guy!! This cocky guy couldn't have made it through BUD/s, nu-huh, no freaking way!

Steve: "So, you're sayin' you're the white knight?"

Magnum: "Well, that's classified. But I will say that the lead character is based on a heroic, charismatic individual who will do anything to get the job done."

Guess, what? Robin has been embedded with Magnum's team for the research on this book. So, Magnum answers with Steve's favorite line - that's classified! Come on!!! That's totally Steve's mojo! And Steve's face! I can't even. He looks at Magnum and all of Steve screams what the fuck, man?

And it dawns on Steve that this cocky bastard he thinks would never, ever make it through BUD/s is in fact – Magnum! The realization…hilarious! Steve's brain shifts into gear and he can hardly believe what he's just discovered.

Steve, with a soft smile: "…I might be in the presence of greatness right now."

Then, that scene where Magnum picks the lock with his tools and Steve watches. Steve plays the correct cop who seems to follow the rules. He lets Magnum open the door though, causing a crime but the important detail is the fact that Steve points to the badge to emphasize he can't break the rules.

I remember a scene where Steve and Danny stand in front of a closed door and Danny thinks about how to get in while Steve just kicks down the door. Danny yells at him and calls him 'a Neanderthal animal' but follows him regardless of what Steve just did. Steve loves to get Danny's attention no matter how this happens. Ranting always means caring and Steve bathes in Danny's way of caring.

Magnum finds the documents hidden under the fridge. Steve makes it up to him with his compliment. "Nice found!" only to pull the next Alpha move of hastily reading the documents written in Chinese, completely ignoring Magnum.

And that scene where Magnum disarms Steve, dislodging the clip of his gun because the perp told him so. That's also a great moment, revealing what Danny has known for a long time. Steve has feelings for his gun. Magnum does as he's been told and pulls the gun from the holster. Steve's senses are on high alert and he sells out Magnum to the perp. Steve searches for a way out, but his real concerns are on his weapon. The way the sheer disbelief shows on his face when Magnum carelessly throws his gun into the bushes almost hurts and makes me laugh at the same time. Steve can't believe how disrespectful Magnum treats his gun! That's such a great moment.

Steve's excitement about driving a Ferrari is infectious. I'm sensing Alex' and Chi's personality seeping through their characters of Steve and Lou when they whisper conspiratorially about how it feels to drive a Ferrari. There's so much passion, breathlessness, and this male want and I love that short, intense moment so much.

The other, sweet glimpse of how Steve feels about Danny comes next. The team watches Magnum and Higgins bicker (I'm not fond of that bickering, too staged, too little heart and honesty in it, doesn't catch my attention) but anyway, the team exchanges funny looks, and Lou asks if they are reminded of anyone by watching the argument of the other two. Steve doesn't even bat an eye, and no one can draw a breath and his reply follows like a shot.

Steve: "Danny and I aren't like that."

Steve instantly catches on who his ohana talks about. He denies everything about what they are teasing about. Steve utters his comment on the topic with a finale tone, like anything about him and Danny bickering is non-negotiable. His arms are crossed over his chest and his stance is wide and solid, unmovable. No one touches Danny! Forbidden territory. Period. And I love that moment, it doesn't even last three seconds but it talks volumes how Steve feels about Danny.

Now, let's talk also about this epic scene in the car when Steve gets a ride by Magnum's team.

Steve: "I would've called my people, but Magnum insisted on calling you guys."

Magnum wanted his team to meet this legend, Steve McGarrett because he knows how much this would mean to his guys! That's so cute and sweet and lovely and really, really kind and deep. I have feelings about this, Magnum genuinely admires Steve, being a SEAL with every fiber of his body and soul. Heaven help!

And before Magnum's team can catch up Magnum has a little chit-chat on his own with Steve and about being a SEAL and about…so much for "no man left behind". Again, some arm-wrestling to prove who's stronger but there's no heat behind that argument more like old buddies catching up.

And then…ohmygod!! TC is my hero! TC says one of the most epic sentences ever in this episode! I'm still reeling from those words. They are super great, sweet Jesus!

TC: "I'm sorry, but I got to ask. There's this SEAL named McGarrett that we always used to hear about. Fought in Operation Avalanche and the Battle of Garmsir. He also led the team that rescued those hostages in Karachi."

THAT'S PURE ADMIRATION RIGHT THERE!! Not only does this mean that Magnum has been gushing about McGarrett all the time because he's so fond of this guy and full of admiration, no, it also shows us what kind of hero Steve is. But SEALs don't talk about their work. They just get the job done and move on. They work in the shadows.

But Steve answers that kind of question…like:

Steve: "Yeah, yeah, that was me."

I mean…*LE GASP*!! WHAT?? How can he just give such a flat-out super direct answer and admitting every-fucking-thing?? I was like…BACKPADDLE! I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH WHAT JUST HAPPENED!

I mean. Whoa! From all the moments Danny has been asking Steve questions about his work in the Navy and as a SEAL there was always the same answer is given by Steve: "I neither can confirm nor deny it." Or my favorite one: "This is classified." And those answers always drove Danny up the wall and into more ranting.

Do you remember the time where the H50 team was allowed to join the operation room from an active SEAL operation? They helped to solve a case where a drug lord (I guess) was involved and they could watch the last op where a SEAL team took out the targets and killed all the tangos. So, and there was Danny asking Steve inappropriate questions about "Operation Strawberry field"…he was making fun of Steve in an odd Danny way. Joe White was quite fed up with Danny's attitude and he glared at him to get him to shut up. Steve seemed really a bit ashamed of Danny's disrespectful behavior.

Anyway, when Danny saw the live feed on how the SEAL team breached the house and how they were killing with precision and a tough skill set every target on place he suddenly went all quiet. He whispered to Steve: "You did that too?" with a tight voice. But Steve only said that he could neither confirm nor deny this question.

The realization of Steve's assigned task as a SEAL hits Danny like being clocked with a brick. But anyway, Danny has never admired Steve's SEAL career in an open way because he knew already then, that Steve's ego is about as big as Texas anyway. But that moment had an impact on Danny and he started to get the big picture.

Okay, let's go back to Steve's answer: Yeah, yeah, that was me. Maybe he said that because he still feels a bit intimidated and surprised by sitting next to the 'white knight'.

The way Steve's answered TC kind of caught me off guard. He's admitting so openly that he was the one leading those operations and he kind of enjoys the admiration (he soaks it up like a dry sponge…to be honest). He really loves being the center of the attention and that's a new one. It's touching how much TC and Rick are really into Steve and his way of being a real hero.

And then TC goes for the kill: "Man, do you realize this is the same cat that took out Anton and Victor, Hess?"

Hello?? TC addresses Steve as 'the same cat'…God! This is highly seductive and hot…as in stealthy, lethal, super primal jungle cat…I mean, what the hell, TC?

The guys are not finished yet.

TC: "This dude is a legit legend."

And here comes Rick: "You know, and I'm glad you brought it up because I-I just want to say, sir, it's an honor." (and he turns to look at Steve.)

Steve: "Thanks, bud."

TC: "We are in the presence of greatness."

(I'm so dead! This is so emotional and I love TC and Rick and Magnum, too because they are pure bliss for Steve's soul and heart.)

And it's not finished yet! There's this last scene where Steve thanks Magnum for working with him on the case. Steve had fun.

Magnum sees Joe White's picture on the wall and they talk about Joe. Steve is moved and there's a short flare of pain but the bonding happens over the fact that Magnum also knew Joe as one of the best instructors ever. And not only is Steve a legend but also in Magnum's eyes, he's also been close to Joe White. Magnum is a decent guy. There's no jealousy coming off of Magnum, only camaraderie and the joy to have gotten to know another brother. And I really love that about him.

I really appreciate the fact that Magnum offers Steve in a nice way to sit down and to talk. Let's grab a beer some time, referring to them as 'us team guys got to stick together' and Steve says 'yes' and not only that.

Steve: "Maybe you can bring those boys along. They're good for the ego."

And Steve shows Magnum the long-overdue respect by calling him the White Knight and telling him his secret is safe with him. Seriously, what a pile of emotions.

And that's such a sweet, honest thing to say and it's Steve who admits it. I just love this scene. And all these moments are also soaked with Danny's energy. First, Magnum wants to meet Steve's partner. Danny's kind of legend too, I guess. Who could keep up with the legit legend Steve McGarrett? This must be one of a kind. And Danny knew Joe White. Danny has been there when Steve just quit the SEALs to start Five-O. He has been with Steve all the time. Danny has helped him to adjust, to find his footing after being in the Navy for years.

And Danny has never been openly impressed by Steve's crazy. He always calls him out on his recklessness. He gives Steve a hard time and rants at him and tries to talk some sense into him. Danny has an unmatched backbone like no other and Steve admires that with all he's got.

And, of course, Steve wants to drag Danny along when they'll have that beer because he doesn't want to miss out on any of Danny's reactions when TC and Rick are all over Steve and fanboying like there's no tomorrow. What a show!

Okay, let's sum it up – it was a great episode with tons of hidden treasure I tried to dig up a bit. The last scenes are great, too. I love that Tani gives Junior a call and asks him out on a date. June sweet eye-widening speaks a silent, strong language and then…THAT CLIFFHANGER!! Oh god!!

Guys, that's it. I have nothing more to add only to emphasize how much secrets I've gotten to discover due to Magnum's attitude to treat Steve the way he did. And through Magnum Steve reveals a lot about how he feels about Danny and much more.

10.12 – another great episode.

Fin

#steve mcgarrett #h50 #h50edit #danny williams #mcdanno #meta #review #10.12 #review on 10.12 #my edit #episode meta #steve meta #cowandcalf muses #it's so freaking long #i can't help it #it makes sense to me #i hope it makes sense to you

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itsclydebitches · 4 years

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RWBY Recaps: “Worst Case Scenario”

Happy Saturday, everyone! I’m so torn on this episode. On the one hand it managed to do a lot of the things I’ve been looking for this volume. On the other hand they’re a bit... shaky. And at least a month too late. But we’ll dive into all that in a bit.

We open on Penny in an Atlas facility which was actually a relief for me. Though I wouldn’t expect it for Penny’s characterization, last week’s order to head immediately back to the Academy alongside her blasting off without saying a word to anyone could have implied that Penny ran off. We could have started the episode with her missing, needing that space, but compounding how guilty she looks in the process. So emotionally I’m glad Penny didn’t unintentionally make her situation worse, yet in all honesty her situation isn’t nearly as bad as “A Night Off” implied it would be. We learn within a few minutes that Atlas techs had no difficulty discovering that the video was doctored, even if the general population isn’t convinced of that yet. Ironwood believes her. So do the Ace Ops and all of RWBYJNR. Robyn wasn’t out to seek revenge on Penny or anything, she just redoubled her efforts to help Mantle as a whole. The only thing that stunt seems to have achieved---besides general stress/division which, frankly, an attack without any framing would have created just as well---is the call to deactivate Penny. But as we just established, no one in power is inclined to do that. No one, from Ironwood to Winter to Pietro, is swayed by this “Penny is a danger” rhetoric. And what’s the public going to do? Storm Atlas and deactivate her themselves? For all the emotion Pietro shows, it doesn’t feel like Penny herself is in any danger, only her reputation. Nor does it feel like the villains’ plan has succeeded in hurting the heroes’ plans. The conflict of today’s episode regarding whether Ironwood continues to pull from Mantle to finish the Amity project existed before Penny’s framing. That just added some tangentially related drama. Feels like a missed opportunity for the villains’ well-executed frame job to, you know, actually achieve something.

I’m getting ahead of myself though. In an effort to prevent any more killings Ironwood cracks down on security, announcing that there are to be no public gatherings of any kind and that everyone must obey the curfew. It’s another case of “You can’t treat people like this” up against “I’m trying to keep people from dying via serial killer.” Obviously not everyone is obeying these new laws. Alongside a few civilians braving the authorities, Robyn and her Happy Huntresses are out stealing the supply trucks meant for Amity and re-distributing those supplies to the people. As a lovely anon pointed out (I’m so far behind on asks I’ll work on that!) how is sucking an entire truck and all its contents into your hand not magic? It’s just another example in a long list of world building details that RWBY hasn’t bothered to think through because they never established rules for their fantasy universe. Hell, at this point semblances are far more powerful and mind-bending than the actual magic we see Ozpin and the Maidens performing. What’s a bit of fire and lighting up against, “I can pull a ton of metal and supplies directly into my skin”?

With another truck in their possession we return to the group in Ironwood’s office. He title drops with how this is the worst case scenario: more people are dead, Penny is framed, and Jacques is somehow sitting on the council. Of course, any long-time RWBY viewer knows that this probably isn’t the worst case scenario. Things will no doubt get so much worse. Clover summarizes by saying that Robyn has moved from “hometown hero to full on vigilante” and then we enter the portion of the episode that made me want to beat my head against a wall.

Here’s the lowdown. The Amity project is permanently stalled because Robyn is taking all the supplies needed to finish it. They’re having trouble stopping her because those Happy Huntresses have one hell of a collection of semblances. A possible solution to this problem would be to declare martial law, further increasing the presence of the military in Mantle and thus, hopefully, stopping her. This would, however, further divide the people of Mantle from Ironwood. So what to do? Decisions, decisions.

The reason why this conflict isn’t a compelling investment for the viewer is because it still hinges on knowledge that Ironwood doesn’t have. As Yang herself will later say, “Do you think we should have told Ironwood about Salem? Before he put so much on the line for Amity?” Every choice he makes is done under the impression that he can defeat Salem and therefore these sacrifices are worth it. Amity Arena is top priority because once we unite the world against her she won’t stand a chance. Losing some defenses in Mantle? Incurring the peoples’ hatred? Declaring martial law? Even risking lives via grimm? All of it is worth it because in the end he’ll have rid the world of a woman who has, single-handedly, changed entire kingdoms for the worse. Remember that Mantle only looks like it does now because Ironwood witnessed firsthand how Salem wormed her way into Beacon and burned it to the ground. From destroying entire schools to killing people at parties, she is the world’s biggest threat. It makes perfect sense to me that he would be willing to go to these lengths in order to stop her. We can debate, as Oscar does, when he’ll have gone too far or if he already has, but that logic remains sound. You’re worried about peoples’ immediate needs? I’m worried about the day when Salem breaks into this kingdom and straight up slaughters them all. It’s inevitable. So Ironwood says yes, we need to make things worse now so that they can be better later. We need to make sacrifices.

Too bad he doesn’t know that it’s all for naught.

Which brings me to the group’s reactions. I mean... holy shit. First off, when Ironwood announces that Amity is on hold Ruby gets super upset. “But we’re so close! There must be some way we can finish the tower.” Ruby, why are you pushing for this to be a priority? You know that Salem can’t be killed! You know that telling the world about her will achieve nothing but panic! People aren’t going to unite against an immortal grimm queen. They’re going to do precisely what you all did before the story decided to gloss over or outright ignore your motivations for fighting an “impossible” fight: They’ll give up. They’ll fall into despair. They’ll make like Qrow and decide that nothing has meaning anymore. Why would it when there’s an immortal antagonist hell bent on our destruction? Ruby’s ‘But we have to finish the tower :o’ reaction makes no sense. Going along with this project because she’s comfy cozy being an Atlas huntress makes sense. Hypocritical, but still. Ruby pushing for the project when it’s doing even more harm, when she knows its primary use is pointless? Prioritizing it over those immediate needs? Like... what? This should have been the moment where Ruby came clean. Or at least kept quiet and looked guilty some more. “Yeah, Ironwood... now that this project is unambiguously hurting the people... you should probably know that it’s kinda... not gonna work...”

Then there’s Nora. Remember how I said I wanted her status as a poor orphan to clash with the privilege and authority around her? Yeah, would have been great if there was at least a little build-up to that. Or if another character acknowledged why she, out of the whole cast, is literally screaming at Ironwood over his choices. I mean sure, like with Oscar not showing up to fight the geist there’s an obvious answer here---Nora was once one of the people in Mantle. Not literally, but in all the ways that matter. Or, if you believe some theories, yes literally if she was originally born here---but it would be nice if the show actually established some of these connections rather than banking on the viewer not only picking up on them, but assuming that the writing indeed meant to create that link. These moments of personal growth are too important to drop in with so little lead in. We see Nora comment on the state of Mantle when they arrive and from there it’s just her steadily challenging Ironwood more and more. No acknowledgment as to why that’s such a sensitive topic for an otherwise bubbly girl and no deconstruction of these feelings after she shows them. I’ve mentioned before that Ironwood is crazy calm while having a bunch of teens challenge him like this. Same here. The level of fury Nora demonstrates is staggering given how, from a ‘What have we seen on screen?’ standpoint, it came out of nowhere.

The best part though is when Clover points out that telling the city there’s a serial killer on the lose could make things even worse. Suddenly the situation wouldn’t be, “Ironwood’s robot inexplicably attacked once but is now safely in custody” but rather, “The killer is still out there, wants to kill more, and is fully capable of doing so.” Cue more panic. Cue more grimm. Considering that this is primarily Nora’s concern, the fact that Mantle is vulnerable to grimm attacks through a combination of resources going to Amity and their general despondence drawing the monsters in, this point should be very relevant to her right now. Oh yeah, maybe we don’t want to freak people out even more because then more people die. The people I am currently trying to defend.

Instead she throws up her hands and exclaims, “I am so sick of secrets! If we just told everyone about Amity, about Salem---!” Then she’s cut off by Ironwood.

Nora. I love you. I really, really do. But:

This is my holiday card this year lol. A stranger and a random dog I found on PicsArt spouting my feelings. Happy Holidays. Needless to say, we’re more than halfway through the volume and I’m so over this high horse the group is riding. Nora’s stance would be a compelling one if she weren’t demanding from Ironwood the very thing she and her friends are unwilling to do.

Although, that little slip says a lot about precisely how far the group is taking the ‘no one is allowed to keep secrets but us’ stance. Tell Mantle about Salem? Really? They know that won’t accomplish anything in the vein of uniting them against her like Ironwood intends. Not if killing her is their final goal. Nora seems to want to tell them because secret keeping is just a Bad Thing and Ironwood is a Bad Man for keeping information from his people. Forget the consequences of telling them and, again, forget Nora’s own hypocrisy. It’s really amazing how far the writing is taking this assumption that anyone who keeps secrets from anyone else is automatically in the wrong unless you’re RWBYJNR.

Bleh. We’ve gotta move on. Too much else to cover and what more is there to say? The writing is an absolute mess.

Prior to Nora’s outburst we learn more about Tyrian. Tyrian Callows, as his file reveals. For those of you who weren’t inclined to read that teeny tiny print, my tired eyes are here to help. Winter gives a basic summary of Tyrian’s record and subsequent arrest/escape, but the scroll provides more details. After a series of murders he was detained and set to move from Mistral to Atlas. The man in charge, Pickerel, wanted additional forces for this move, clearly expecting that Tyrian would try to escape. He was denied this and eventually kicked off the mission for not cooperating. During Tyrian’s transport the airship was attacked by a swarm of grimm, despite the fact that the area they were passing through was considered relatively safe. Tyrian continues to speak throughout the ship’s transmission despite severe injuries from the crash. He was heard saying, “What are you? What are you?” sobbing and eventually ending with “Beautiful.” (Edit: My mistake. Cornetto is the one who asks, “What are you?”). At the time Atlas officials assumed he had been killed by grimm, despite the fact that no bodies were found. There’s a note revising this to say he was suspected to have escaped after Pickerel was found dead in his house.

Obviously, Tyrian met Salem that day.

So Winter and the Ace Ops aren’t pleased to hear that this notorious serial killer is in their city and working for their greatest enemy, but at least they all believe Ruby about what she saw. Ironwood eventually shuts the whole conversation down, announcing that they need to put their efforts towards stopping Robyn and Tyrian. Winter and Clover give the expected, “Yes, sir!” in regards to this order. So does Ren. Like I said last week, ignoring all his concerns and trying to fix things with a kiss is not something that works. Glad to see Ren’s new work ethic and devotion to the fight didn’t magically disappear because Nora decided to make a move.

We transfer to Yang and Blake where they FINALLY bring up Adam. Hallelujah! It’s too little too late, but as I’ve said before, better late than never. Granted, it’s not much of a conversation. Yang insists they did what they had to do. Blake says she never wants to be in another position where she’s forced to kill someone. Understandable perspective, but not really the sort of thing you can control when plenty of others are out to kill you. Unless Blake swears to never kill again and upholds that ideal over the inevitable danger to herself and others, that’s just not something she’s going to be able to avoid.

Still very glad it exists, but considering that their talk didn’t actually delve into much regarding that trauma I’m more interested in the things they have to say about the continued secret keeping. This is where Yang once again questions whether they should tell Ironwood and finds that Blake doesn’t agree. Why is this significant? Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone disagree with Yang and get out of it without a glare at best, violence at worst. Yang herself points out that Blake doesn’t seem to be on board with her perspective and is so very gentle about it. It’s clear Yang in no way blames Blake for this difference between them. She legitimately wants to understand her position. Once again, I’m torn. On the one hand Yang should absolutely be commended for the mature way she handled this conversation. On the other hand... it’s Blake. We’ve already seen time and time again that Blake is the exception to Yang’s every rule. I wasn’t joking when I said back in Volume 6 that I primarily like Yang as a character when she’s interacting with Blake because it’s only when she’s with Blake (and to a lesser extent Ruby) that we see this calm, rational, sympathetic version of Yang. Though it is, as said, great that she can approach a difference between them in a healthy and level-headed manner, I’d also like to see her manage the same with someone other than the woman she’s clearly in love with. I’ll believe that Yang has undergone actual growth when she can demonstrate this kind of maturity with someone she’s not already eager to impress and desperate not to create a rift with.

In addition, we get to watch Yang explain how Ironwood “didn’t have many good options” and Blake responds with, “I’m not sure there are many good options left for any of us anymore.” Yet somehow, astoundingly, neither of them manages to apply this perspective to Ozpin. The cast is literally repeating all the arguments I’ve made in Ozpin’s defense---trusting people is dangerous, secrets are hard to part with, you’re not a bad person if you only have shit options to choose from and have to choose something---yet no one actually acknowledges the one character this most applies to.

It’s after all this talk of secret keeping that Blake and Yang decide that they don’t have to follow Ironwood’s orders. Which... is a problem. Because yes actually, they do. Remember how they’re official huntsmen now? Remember how this is a job that comes with rules, regulations, and adhering to the orders you’re given? I’m not saying they’re morally in the wrong here. We can likewise debate the significance of Robyn having this information, whether she’s trustworthy, etc. Rather, I’m merely pointing out that by taking on this job the group agreed to follow Ironwood and obey his instructions. They’ve now broken that promise. It likewise raises the question of whether they’ll tell everyone about this. Based on Blake’s “We’ll distract [the Ace Ops]” it doesn’t sound like they’re going to walk into Ironwood’s office an hour later and admit that they made their own choice based on their own moral code, giving him the chance to dismiss them. I don’t want people working for me who I can’t trust to follow my orders and all that. Which would mean, you know, that they’re keeping another secret. That cycle of hypocrisy will continue, now in the form of Yang and Blake patting themselves on the back for not hiding information from Robyn while likewise hiding new information from Ironwood. So I’m interested to see how and if they’ll admit to this decision, one they made without Ironwood’s or the rest of the team’s input.

Of course, Blake and Yang only get half a pat on the back here. It’s not like they actually came clean in regards to Salem, the primary secret hanging over everyone’s heads. They are, again, acting precisely like Ozpin: doling out little bits and pieces of information as they see fit. I thought for a moment that they truly intended to tell Robyn everything but would be interrupted before they could. Instead Yang says straight out that they’re refusing to come clean about it all and Robyn swears that she “won’t stop until I learn the whole truth.” So congratulations, you further solidified the parallel between you and the man you’re still ignoring, made a pretty huge decision without the input of your partners or boss, and will potentially hide that information in an ever growing list of secrets. If that’s the case that will bring Yang’s total to five: my mom is the Spring Maiden, Salem can’t be killed, the relic attracts grimm, we’re the reason Ozpin is missing, and Robyn now knows about your project thanks to us.

During this whole conversation Robyn reveals that she has the lie detector semblance rather than Ironwood and... Really? I brought up before how many problems that inevitably causes. Case and point: if Robyn can just clasp someone’s hand and tell if they’re lying, why not do that with Ironwood weeks or months ago? Prior to Tyrian’s attack it was abundantly clear that Robyn would prefer to work with Ironwood but isn’t sure she can trust that he has the people’s best interests at heart; Ironwood likewise would prefer to work with Robyn but isn’t sure he can trust her period. Ironwood literally told the group last episode that the fact that they’re not already working together isn’t fully his fault (like the group wants to insist). Working together requires both parties being willing to come together... and here’s a super easy solution on Robyn’s end of things. Not sure about Ironwood’s motives? Shake his hand, ask him to make a statement about it, and find out! For me, the reveal of this semblance just puts more responsibility on Robyn’s shoulders than Ironwood’s. She could have taken more steps towards reconciliation, confident in her unique ability to confirm information. Ironwood? He’s working on pure faith in people which, as the last two volumes have shown, isn’t much to work with at all.

I don’t even want to get into the issues with this semblance moving forward. Unless Robyn because a full-blown enemy or is killed in the finale, every times someone is worried about lying I’m going to ask, “Why not just get Robyn?” It’s too easy a solution, one that writers are inclined to ignore when they don’t want a quick answer, and that disconnect rankles.

We segue to Pietro’s lab and hark! A Maria! She’s apparently been helping Pietro out with all the Amity Tower stuff lately, much appreciated work considering he would have collapsed under the workload otherwise. How kind. A perfectly logical use of her time. Now why couldn’t you have told us that five episodes ago?

Tiny edits, Rooster Teeth. Simple revisions. RWBY continues to read like a first draft. Plenty of potential, but there’s so much missing or disorganized that the viewer is left frustrated because we can see so clearly what it could have been... but we didn’t get that. A pity.

With Maria’s existence re-confirmed we dive into a number of revelations. Most notably that Pietro didn’t succeed in creating an artificial aura for Penny, he merely found a way to share a part of his with her. That’s why he’s so ill and the more times Penny needs to be rebuilt, the more aura he has to give up to revive her. The assumption? There will come a final time, likely at the end of the volume, when Penny will need a recharge and Pietro will die. It’s a setup I’m actually thrilled about if we ignore the obligatory grief over losing a good side character. That reveal was a surprise for most viewers, yet is something that still makes sense based on what we previously knew (a lot of “twists” end up retconning past info) and would lead to a very satisfying ending. Pietro, already an old man, passes on knowing he’s given his daughter the best life he can. All this coughing and death flags reach a conclusion by the end of the volume. Penny is saved but from here on out everyone knows she’s mortal. It adds weight to every fight she’s in and removes the probability that she’ll indefinitely live out everyone she’s ever loved. She might have a longer lifespan than most if she keeps herself safe, but she’s not immortal. All around? One of the best things Rooster Teeth has introduced in ages.

We also see Weiss closing in on Jacques’ involvement in the attack. Only a few people have access to Mantle’s security, one of which is directly connected to the Schnee Dust Company...

Finally, god bless, our favorite farm boy gets a scene. An actual, full-fledged scene in which he speaks multiple times.

I could cry. It might be the only significant scene we get with Oscar this Volume, but it’s far more than we’ve had in an age. Hell to the yes.

Basically, Ironwood shows off the Staff of Creation’s vault and admits that this is what is keeping Atlas afloat, not gravity dust as everyone else assumes. Which is a revelation not nearly as well done as Penny’s. Floating? That’s what this all powerful magical object does? How in the world does that connect to creation? And why bother doing that at all? It’s clear that gravity dust can keep things up---Ironwood said that they’ll have to lift Amity the “old-fashioned way”---so why bother using the relic for that when an “endless power source” could potentially be used to do so much more? Or let’s say dust can’t lift a whole city (even though you’d think someone would have realized that by now if that’s the case, questioned how the hell Atlas stays up there...) why is that so important? Just overall grimm protection? A symbol of status? This reveal seems to raise too many odd questions and, frankly, feels like a clumsy setup for the finale. Meaning, now Atlas is in risk of falling. If someone steals the relic or decides to move things along by lifting Amity with it, the entire city comes tumbling down.

With info out of the way Ironwood admits that he’d hoped coming to this place would spark some memory in Oscar, talking about him as if he is Ozpin, rather than just housing him. He likewise says later that “Eventually you won’t even know who’s who anymore.” Everyone cry over Oscar’s expression.

Jury’s out on whether Ironwood knows this for a fact or whether he’s working under an assumption, like much of the fandom, that Ozpin and Oscar will eventually merge into one new-ish person. After all, from what we saw in Volumes 1-3, Ironwood only ever interacted with Ozpin as one individual, so he has little reason to think there was always another, distinct person hanging out somewhere in his mind. But there could have been. I’ve mentioned in previous metas that if Ozpin and Oscar remain distinct, it makes perfect sense that Ozma would have been the one running things at Beacon, leaving the much younger and inexperienced host to take a backseat during those conversations.

Indeed, I thought for a moment that Oscar would say, “You can talk to him,” finally acknowledging that if someone tries to address Ozpin as his own person he might actually respond. He just says “You can talk to me” though. Which, yes. I also want people to talk to Oscar. It just astounds me that everyone continues to act as if Ozpin is literally out of their reach, rather than potentially a “Hey. I’m sorry. Can we talk?” away. Maybe Ozpin won’t answer, but someone could finally try.

They talk about how horrific it was for Ironwood to watch Beacon fall. We get a wonderfully creepy flashback to Salem’s chess piece, reminding us that she’s not just dangerous, she’s malicious. Salem enjoys watching those around her suffer. “The way she told me she was there.” They likewise discuss whether Salem doesn’t have an advantage without her humanity and Oscar cautions Ironwood that saving the world isn’t worth losing his own. Not to call out my favorite farm boy, but that’s a real easy stance to take when you know Salem is immortal and Ironwood doesn’t. Again, every sacrifice he makes is under the impression that it’s taking him closer and closer to a world without her. To his mind, losing his own humanity might be worth it if it rids the world of her once and for all. Meanwhile, Oscar is working under the impression that defeating Salem won’t ever happen. Why give up your humanity for an impossible dream? They’re coming at this from completely different angles and until everyone has the same info the group’s stance on Ironwood’s choices holds no water. The fandom loves insisting that RWBYJNR couldn’t have made an informed choice about joining the fight until they knew about Salem, despite the fact that they had already agreed to fight an immortal enemy (the grimm), had already risked their lives for the people, and clearly intended to continue doing that in the future. Knowing about Salem had no bearing on the question, “Do you want to help?” because they’d already answered that numerous times. In contrast, this is a situation where Ironwood actually doesn’t have all the information necessary to make an informed decision. You want to judge him for his plans and his willingness to sacrifice it all in the name of defeating Salem? Fine, but you’ve got to stop working with a different set of rules than him first.

Of course, despite being alone in the bottom of a vault, despite introducing Oscar’s (supposed) reservations about keeping secrets earlier in the volume, despite this insight into why Ironwood is making these choices... Oscar doesn’t tell Ironwood either. So much for the, “Oscar will spill the beans to Ironwood” theory. It could still happen, but like so much else in this episode by then it’ll be too late. The moment passed.

Instead of any progress in that regard they just head upstairs where Winter and Penny are waiting with a letter from Jacques. He’s invited them to dinner where Ironwood will defend his position on the council. Looks like Oscar’s advice to “talk to the people you’re most afraid to” came at them like a battering ram.

And that’s it for this week. What have we got left? Six episodes? Far too few to cover everything the story needs to. I’m gearing up for a bumpy ride this holiday season.

Until then, folks!

Minor Things of Note

The robot patting Penny’s head? Wonderful. Stellar. Absolutely fantastic detail. The idea that the Atlas facilities are populated with semi-conscious AIs and that they care enough about Penny to offer her support is just precious.

I like many of the shots we got this episode. Penny looking like she’s behind bars and Ironwood shrouded in a mist-like window are two that stood out.

#rwby #rwby volume 7 #rwby volume 7 spoilers #rwby recaps #mymetas

56 notes · View notes

janiedean · 5 years

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Hey Lavi, I never got around to reading Dante, but I studied Renaissance Florence and I saw someone in that long post mention that Dante seemed to have it in for Florence? Why is that, or was that a misreading? All I can recall of Florence’s flaws for the time were it’s reputation for gay guys and prostitutes (IIRC the German word for homosexual is derived from Florence :P)

ba… er, it’s not that he had it on florence, but like, people in that post (the not italian ones) have 100% Missed The Point, so I’ll go at it from the beginning. so, quote in question (I suppose):

he and his idol/mancrush, the famous poet Virgil, journey through Hell on behalf of his dead girlfriend and everyone who he didn’t like was there and suffered punishment for all eternity and then he blames three whole popes and the entire fucking city of Florence, Italy for the shitty state of the Church and over seven hundred years later it’s played a major influence in Western culture

now, never mind that ‘it’s played’ is dumb af because ITALIAN LANGUAGE WOULDN’T EXIST WITHOUT DANTE so it’s not played for shit, but like I’ll try to not touch all the other subjects regardless of how much my eyes are bleeding just reading this sentence.

the point is that he was permanently exiled from florence because of his political stances in which the church took part and that happened before the reinassance, which is like… long and complicate so I’m gonna make it very short and simplified sorry everyone but it’s not a thing you can dissect on tumblr properly. so, list:

florence at the end of the 13th century was a republic in the context of the rivalrly between guelfs and ghibellines, pls refer to that link for specific info but basically most of the politics in italy at that point where ‘there’s a bunch of separate small republics/states fighting each other and people tend to either stand with the pope [guelfs] or the emperor of the sacred roman empire [ghibellines]’, and in florence there had been a war in between the two factions that ended with the ghibellines being sent away from the city around 1289 if I’m not getting the year wrong, dante was a guelf and a nobleman and was directly involved in the city’s politics from then onwards until the aforementioned exile;

after then there was a further split in between the guelf faction ie one wanted the pope to be less involved and the other was more with sticking with him, and dante was in the first one;

now this is the point where I should tell you that the pope was boniface viii ie someone who has since then (and during that time) been wildly recognized as one of the worst people who ever had that job ever and whose papacy can be summed up in ‘trying to have both spiritual and temporal power in each single possible way in italy and outside it’ - pls read the entire article and get to the part where he had an entire feud with philip the ivth of france and ended with him getting slapped in the face in anagni -, and who dante saw as someone who had corrupted the catholic church and was fully not doing what his job entailed ie shepherding souls and not being an emperor;

tldr the white vs black guelfs feud ended up with the black guelfs winning and exiling the whites among which dante who therefore ended up exiled from his hometown for the entirety of his life later;

now the thing that those people don’t get is that to dante/people in his situation being involved in their hometown’s politics especially when being a public figure and so on was most of their life and they had an attachment to their city that was similar to what you’d have for your country since back in the day italy was barely a cultural unit and not a political one, like fighting for your city it wasn’t the same as fighting for your *hometown*, it was the same as your COUNTRY, which means that in his context being exiled from there meant leaving the country he was born in/that he loved/felt like he 100% belonged to and never come back, not just leaving one town and going to another. like, if someone told me I couldn’t ever go back to rome in my entire life but I could stay in naples I’d still be in the same country and as I’m italian first and everything else later I’d suffer but who cares, if someone said you have to leave italy and you can never come back I’d suffer a thousand times more because italy is my damned country and the place I was born in and in whose culture I partake/that I feel at home in, that was what it meant leaving florence to him;

now, his problem wasn’t with florence, his problem was with the people who threw him out and the system which allowed it and the catholic church which instead of worrying about religion worried about politics and mingling with them, which by the way is *exactly what the catholic church does here in italy to this day no more no less*, from then on nothing has changed, and he didn’t blame FLORENCE for the shitty state of the church as OP says, HE BLAMED THE CHURCH FOR THE SHITTY STATE OF FLORENCE AND THE ENTIRE COUNTRY, and guess what it’s been seven hundred years and counting and exactly nothing has changed, which means OP’s point even more dumb because dante saying that then and nothing having changed now should witness to the fact that he was only speaking sense;

like: dante had it in with corrupt popes who turned the church into a temporal power rather than stick with the spiritual because he thought that the temporal power didn’t belong to it, which is like… the principle of separation between state and church on which each single post-american revolution constitution has been founded on sure as hell he didn’t have it in for florence when he missed it for his entire life and wanted to go back more than anything and he couldn’t because he was exiled;

now, another thing that OP doesn’t get because lmao what is context: to catholics, the pope is technically infallible. like, if you’re a catholic You Cannot Criticize The Pope, period, so the fact that dante alighieri, A Catholic In The Middle Ages, puts not just one pope in HELL but more than one in a book/poem that he wants to sell as a revolutionary work (which he wanted to do or he wouldn’t have had vergil walking him through hell) is like… a level of disruptive revolutionary literary BDE that these people can’t even conceive, because it implied saying that the head of the church was wrong and calling him out of it. which, again, for a catholic, is basically the highest BDE level in existence. and guess what, Dante Was A Catholic But Not A Bigoted One As Much As These People ThinK;

also, never mind that the people he put in hell were also people he LIKED and most of the sympathetic characters are there, but tumblr doesn’t know that he put in purgatory manfred, the not legitimate son of frederick the second, who was excommunicated by the church, which I should hope anyone can guess the meaning of - like, excommunication is The Worst Thing The Church Can Do When It Comes To Catholics -, and he still put him in a position where he could be redeemed because he repented on his deathbed (according to dante’s rendition anyway), which means that he said someone the church had expelled for good from its ranks could still be redeemed and eventually go to heaven, which was basically telling them fuck you. same BDE.

now, that is the entire point of THAT SPECIFIC THING RE FLORENCE, but I’d like to state that the way I put it is the 0,5% of the entire problem which I can’t possibly summarize because in that book he comments on the status of things in the entire goddamned nation even if it wasn’t a nation politically at that point while mixing it with his philosophy treatise and his own search to have his faith and political ideals coexist while also discussing courtly poetry and changing his language based on the needs while using the same poetric meter that he invented/came up with and no one else could manage to use again after because it was too complicated, and while he does that he gives you a summary of the entirety of greek mythology figures that he incorporated in his work, a summary of the status of things in discussions of medieval theology and philosophy and on top of that there’s some expressions which are now staples of the italian language like we use them commonly and 80% of the time ppl don’t even know he came up with them.

and that still is a badly put summary of 20% of the basic things you find in the divine comedy as a whole because there’s more than that and there’s a reason why here in high school you study it for three years one cantica per year and it’s not even enough to barely scratch the surface. and that’s why those posts give me a damn aneurysm, because if you say that ^^^^^ above is fanfic sorry but I see red.

also sorry for going off like this but you went and pointed out the one thing that irked me most about that OP but I also didn’t want to reply directly because this discussion has given me metaphorical ulcers in the past plus gave me three days of feeling really fucking down (I don’t wanna use trigger but it was the closest thing I came to that in my entire life) and I’m done engaging with people who wouldn’t want to listen but eh. XDDDDD anyway sorry for the rant I hope it was exhaustive. XD

#dante alighieri #the divine comedy #at this point i'll tag bye #welcome to italy #mzyraj #ask post

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ichigopanhpff · 5 years

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BNHA Fic: Blink! Ch. 15

Read Ch. 14 | Masterlist

SPOILER ALERT: More character development time!

Warnings: Bullying theme, mild violence.

Full backstory time with Ren! There’s not much S4 spoiler stuff here.

The six first years unceremoniously filed in and stood around as Ren gently closed her door to her room. Their attention was briefly distracted by the box in the middle of the floor.

“Senpai, what’s this?” Uraraka asked, eyeing the packed item.

“Something to show later. Please, sit,” she requested. Spacing was a little cramped but they all managed to give one another enough room to move about. Ren settled in between Asui and Kirishima, inhaled a deep breath and hovered her palm over her chest.

“I just… need a moment,” she mumbled out. “Nerves.”

“Take all the time you need,” Kirishima consoled with kind red eyes looking her way.

Another short beat of silence went by, her uneasiness settled little by little.

“This goes without saying, but I’m telling you all this in confidence,” Ren affirmed with seriousness. “So whatever’s been said here stays here. You’re in my circle of trust now.”

The group nodded solemnly before she continued.

“As I told you some of you before, Chisaki Kai killed my dad and brother when I was eight while I was still living in California...” she reiterated. Bakugou and Todoroki’s faces showed surprise when hearing that statement. “He found out my dad was a double agent working for the U.S. and Japanese government.”

“So your name–” Todoroki unconsciously blurted out, already knowing what she was going to say. Ren looked up at the group with clear eyes.

“My name before I moved to Japan was Remy Hayes-Takahiro,” she exposed. “My dad was Takahiro Rennosuke.”

“Takahiro Rennosuke?” Midoriya questioned. “He doesn’t sound familiar at all.”

“That’s because the government here and in America redacted all the documents pertaining it,” she revealed. “Including our hyphenated family name. He wasn’t a well-known hero, per se, and was more of a government agent who had a great reputation with his codename, Spectre.”

“But why would they do that?” Kirishima asked.

“The case he was working on was tracking leads on quirk-boosters and find out what he could on the rumored quirk nullifiers. His objective was to build a relationship with a high-profile buyer and seller; like a middleman of sorts,” she explained. “The goal was to uproot them and shut down the entire chain. I’m sure he’s even worked with FatGum at one point. There were only a handful of people on his team who were aware of this sting and wasn’t on any official documents.”

“It was a black operation then,” Bakugou summarized. “If anyone caught wind of it, lots of people’s lives would be compromised.”

“Exactly.” She took a short breath before continuing. “Not long after the op started, he’d been put in contact with Chisaki Kai and started making a name for himself as ‘Kuronuma Isamu.’ Can’t get any bigger than that, right? I’m sure he had to do things he wasn’t proud of while undercover. I remember seeing his face being void of emotions whenever he came home for a few days; It was like a bit of his soul died.”

“What was your dad’s quirk?” Todoroki asked.

“’Invisible Man’. The perfect quirk for covert missions and assassinations,” she robotically answered. “I’ve inherited a small part of it, but I can’t will myself to disappear completely like he did. Mine is more dependent on light refractions and how I can blend myself to the space like camouflage.”

Feeling her emotions start to bubble up talking about her dad, she wiped the lower half of her face with her hand and rolled her lips in. Asui placed a comforting hand on the small of Ren’s back.

“Take a breath, ribbit,” she soothed. “We know this is hard for you.”

She softly nodded and gave a thankful look to the frog-like girl and lightly breathed through her nose.

“When he was close to completing the mission, someone leaked his identity to one of Chisaki’s men in his officer’s circle.” She gritted her teeth in anger. “And just like that, the whole operation was abandoned and all his contacts went dark. A year’s worth of work completely gone. None of the higher-ups could do anything about it. They just… let him take the fall.”

A single tear dropped down on the floor. She hastily wiped the trail away and sniffled. Ren was using everything she had to hold back the pain throbbing in her heart.

“The Hassaikai found out where we lived, who we were, everything...” Her voice was barely a whisper now and swallowed hard. “My dad hurried back that night and told us what happened. We packed what we could to escape, but they were just too fast.”

Her whole body visibly shook and hugged herself. Ren tried calming herself down with loud, shuddering breaths through her mouth to get through the rest of the story as tears freely streamed down her cheeks.

“They burned our house to try to smoke us out...” She struggled to speak through her hiccups. “My dad and brother, Jun, who was only eleven at the time, stayed behind to fight them off. I tried to grab his hand to come with me, but… I froze in fear. I couldn’t do anything and he was right within my reach...”

By now, Ren had completely broken down and covered her face with her hands, palms moist from the uncontrollable tears pouring out.

“If only I wasn’t so timid and scared then... If only I had more willpower to reach my hand out… he’d still be alive,” Ren whimpered through her broken sobs. “All he did was look back, flashing a scared smile at me while crying himself. He said… ‘I’ll be fine. Because I’m a hero.’”

The deafening silence rung out in the room while she breathlessly sobbed to the point of hyperventilating and coughing. Everyone got misty-eyed and wiped them away save for Bakugou and Todoroki, who gave her a softened sympathetic glance. Were they in her position at that young of an age, what would they have done? Would they fight or listen to their parents?

The six gave her a chance to calm down before finishing the story. Ren looked back up with wet eyes and a completely red nose with discharge trying to leak out.

“All I remember was hearing gunshots after my mom grabbed me and ran out,” she continued between her hiccups and swallowed hard. “And from the corner of my eye, I saw Chisaki going after her. Even though I was scared to death... My body moved on its own and I managed to at least push her away to safety as he grabbed me instead...”

She slowly pulled down the collar of her thin sweater along with her bra strap, revealing a faded hand-like shaped scar on her left shoulder and looked away in shame. Their breaths audibly hitched in their dry throats. Uraraka clasped her mouth with both her hands. Midoriya’s breathing shook with nervousness as his eyes widened.

“He used Overhaul on me…” She paused, vividly remembering the smell of iron from her blood and searing white hot sensation. It was like being branded as livestock. Pieces of her flesh stripped away cell by cell in front of her very eyes. The pain after was like raking a fiery barbed wire doused in rubbing alcohol on an open and extremely tender wound.

“The doctors said it was nothing short of a miracle I still had a functioning arm after all the surgeries to fix the muscular and nerve damage…”

Her shaky right hand pulled the collar back up and adjusted it, lightly squeezing her marred shoulder.

“I always thought this scar was the physical embodiment of my sin and I hated myself for it. A small part of me hoped once I got Chisaki, it’d disappear for good… But he’ll always be a part of me no matter what. Just like Eri…”

Ren’s gaze briefly met Midoriya’s look of grief before closing her eyes.

“… What happened after?” the freckled boy managed to squeeze his words out through the dark and thick atmosphere.

“The cops and firefighters showed up, but most of the big players of Hassaikai got away. I was in and out of consciousness from the pain. All I could make out through blurry eyes was my mom screaming for help and putting pressure on my shoulder so I wouldn’t bleed out. While we were in the hospital recovering, a whole investigation happened with local law enforcement. And then, it was all over the news...” Ren trailed off and closed her eyes.

“Takahiro Rennosuke under the alias ‘Kuronuma Isamu’ got labeled as a dirty government agent who was bribed with laundered money from quirk-boosting drug sales. That was their way in keeping their hands clean. After that, the bullying at school started…”

Her eyes soon turned lifeless upon remembering these dark memories as her heart went numb.

“People who I thought were my friends stayed away. They called me ‘Scummy Remy’ and thought I was dirty like my dad; some even said I should’ve died in the fire,” she bitterly spat out. “Classmates threw away my books, wrote all over my desk… One kid with a lava quirk melted away my gym uniform and sneakers… The teachers didn’t even bother to hide their disgust. Somewhere along the way, I believed those words and stopped going to school.”

Feeling her legs lose feeling from sitting cross-legged, she adjusted her body and hugged her knees. Midoriya subtly gripped his fists just a little tighter with a pained expression, empathizing how it felt to be treated as lower than a human being because of things outside their control.

He’s reminded once more how cruel the world could really be. Bakugou glanced over at his childhood friend and looked back, feeling ashamed at his past self.

“My mom was getting ostracized at work too, but she at least had a few good people in her corner to get through it. Even after everything, she was trying her best with me, but nothing worked. And I’ve made her cry so many times because of it…”

Ren’s eyes reflected guilt and regret, letting out an audible sigh.

“After the “investigation” wrapped up, my dad’s boss dared come to the safe house we were staying at. She greeted him a firm slap to the face and cursed him out. That was the first time I’ve ever seen her extremely angry.”

She let out a wry chuckle from that memory, her eyes unfocused.

“Aside from the usual ‘my condolences’ bullshit, he came to deliver us a proposal from the higher ups: Start over in Japan under an asylum claim. That was their make good with us. The only trade-off was we don’t exist. Victoria and Remy Hayes-Takahiro never existed. At that point, we had no more cards to play nor did we have anything else to lose. So my mom agreed.”

“You chose ‘Ren’ as your new name...” Todoroki assumed.

The pink haired girl softly nodded and placed her hand over her heart.

“To keep my dad alive through me.”

“Did they ever find the person who leaked the information?” Bakugou asked.

“From what I was able to find out, that agent was found dead in a ditch four days later. By whose hands, it’s anybody’s guess.”

“’Find out?’” Uraraka questioned.

“Open the box.”

Midoriya and Kirishima reached in and took out the ledger notebook, bound old photographs and the framed family photo of the four of them.

“After the dust settled with the legalities and our citizenship, I did my own investigation,” she divulged and proceeded to tell them the entire story of her childhood escapades and run-in with Eraserhead, Fourth Kind and Gang Orca.

“I can’t believe you called Aizawa-sensei a ‘mophead’,” the spiky red-head snickered and covered his mouth from laughing, despite the gloomy atmosphere. “That’s pretty amazing.”

“I’m sure Tomoe and Seri filled in the blanks with how we met then?”

“The general idea of it, yeah,” Midoriya replied softly.

“Then fill me in,” Bakugou butted in. “I wasn’t there.”

While the group busied themselves with conversation and sifted through her relics, Ren excused herself to clean up in the bathroom. Huffing a heavy breath, she pulled her head up and stared at herself in the mirror after flipping the light switch on.

Her hair was completely disheveled like she just rolled out of bed; her hazel-green eyes were bloodshot, red and puffy from all the crying. A dry crust of fresh discharge coated the bottom of her nose; the tip was completely red with matching blotches scattered across her fair skin. The scar on her shoulder was peeking out of the slouchy sweater she was wearing.

In short, she looked like hell and then some.

Turning the faucet on, she waited for the water to get warm enough to splash it on her face a few times. Feeling satisfied with the amount of wetness, she killed the running water and blindly felt for her hanging face towel to wipe the droplets off. Sighing again, she checked herself once more to make sure she was semi-presentable again to her guests outside.

Making her way back to her spot, Ren let out a light groan as she sat back down. A steady but comfortable silence filled the void as the group thumbed through the old ledger book. Kirishima slowly went through the photos one by one.

“You really didn’t hold back,” Bakugou was impressed with her meticulousness and carefully flipped the pages. “You even got down the schedules of each group’s patrol around their turf.”

“I was going to use that when I was old enough to stay out late to tail them.”

She unconsciously reached out to grab the frame of her family photo off of the floor and cradled it with her hands, something she used to not be able to do. The emotional weight of it was too heavy for her to lift before. Even touching it would make her shake violently back then.

But having seen through this to the end, her heart felt a lot lighter. Uraraka and Asui peered over her shoulders to see four people sitting in front of a house on the small front lawn, smiling at the camera. Her dad was a tall and lanky man with jet black hair wearing casual clothing, her mom with the same hair color as Ren leaning on his shoulder. Her brother had their dad’s hair but their mom’s smile. He and the younger form of herself linked arms, grinning ear to ear.

It was a home and family that no longer existed nor could she go back to.

“What kind of person was your brother?” Asui enquired. Being the oldest sibling in her family, she sincerely empathized with her upperclassman’s story.

“Jun was… stubborn, but patient and kindhearted,” she remembered with a small smile on her lips. “He was competitive, but never boastful. And had a strong sense of justice. His presence was always there to reassure people.”

Ren’s face softened at the memory and fresh as if it happened seconds ago.

“I was actually scared of my quirk when it first manifested because I couldn’t control it,” she revealed. “I was in the middle of my piano class one day and next thing I knew, I was in the middle of a busy street in California scared out of my mind and crying my eyes out in front of strangers.”

The pink haired girl paused briefly and covered the lower half of her face, cringing from embarrassment.

“Jun heard what happened and comforted me after I got home. While he did that, he told me something to help me control Flicker; I still use it today.”

“And that is?” Midoriya asked.

“‘Find a point and mark it your home.’”

“So what was his quirk?” Uraraka asked.

“He could generate a sonic-scream with his voice that could double as sonar. Drove my mom nuts whenever he sang or yelled excitedly.”

“That sounds like a really cool one,” Kirishima remarked. “He would’ve made an awesome hero.”

“If he was alive today, he’d probably be a sidekick to someone.”

Asui and Uraraka analyzed the photo and focused on her parents.

“You really do look like your dad,” Uraraka noticed. “Especially your nose.”

“I’ve been told that,” she let out a small chuckle with a matching smile. “I got my mom’s eyes and temper though.”

“Is it that bad?” Todoroki asked.

“It’s pretty bad,” Midoriya and Kirishima both firmly stated. Ren promptly face palmed, remembering what happened at the briefing at Nighteye’s agency and groaned.

“She went off on a pro-hero,” the green-haired boy squeaked out. “In English. I thought they were gonna kick us out.”

“The guy was pretty much puttin’ us down and calling us extra luggage,” Kirishima defended. “Senpai verbally tore him a new one.”

“We made good though,” Ren casually tossed that fact in there.

Bakugou was impressed and let out a smirk. “Never thought you had it in you, considering how timid you were with me.”

“That was my poor attempt in trying to be polite,” she deadpanned.

“I smelled that bullshit from a mile away,” the spiky blond boy retorted as she pressed her lips down into a fine line.

“So what are you going to do with all this stuff now?” Midoriya asked, gesturing to the contents.

Ren stared at it in deep thought and suddenly blurted out, “Burn it.”

“What?!” they all exclaimed.

“Heh, now you’re speakin’ my lingo,” the explosive boy encouraged with a wide grin and excited red eyes.

“But you put so much effort into—” Asui tried to reason, only to be cut off.

“It was my anger and sorrow I put into this.” She placed a hand on top of the ledger and stroked the aged leather cover with her thumb. “It’s given me nothing but lingering bad memories. And it’s served its purpose. Let the past stay in the past.”

“Are you sure though?” Todoroki calmly asked. “They may have been bad memories, but they made you into who you are today.”

“If I leave it here, someone might find it and I’d get in trouble,” she reasoned. “No one knows this exists except the ones I’ve told and those three pro-heroes.”

A heavy sigh emitted from their noses as they stared at the scattered items. They knew she was right and felt they weren’t at a place where they could argue with her.

“If you’re sure… I’ll help you burn it,” the bi-coloured haired boy finally spoke up. He looked at his left hand and back to Ren. “Just let me know when.”

She gave a soft, thankful nod in his direction and let out a loud breath.

“I loaded some pretty heavy stuff on you guys, didn’t I?” The corner of her lips curved upward in a lopsided direction and rubbed the back of her neck.

“Not exactly relaxing weekend talk, if that’s what you mean,” Kirishima chimed in with an awkward smile and scratched the back of his head.

“You asked for it,” she light-heartedly noted.

“I did, didn’t I?” the spiky red-head sheepishly replied with a toothy grin.

With the room getting stuffy with the amount of people in there, she opened the door only to see eavesdroppers piled on top of one another with protruding limbs. One of them looked up and revealed Kaminari’s face.

“O-oh, h-heeeeyyyy, senpai,” he timidly stuttered out as he met the livid death glare of their resident advisor. “Fancy seein’ you here.” The others shuffled below him as a means to escape, revealing Ashido and Sero.

Midoriya, Kirishima, and Uraraka’s face had shock written all over it, while Bakugou’s exasperated expression had him groan aloud. Todoroki and Asui, as always, were stoic. Ren immediately slammed her fist into her palm, audibly cracking her knuckles.

“How much did you hear?” she growled out through gritted teeth.

The group stammered and froze in fear.

“HOW. MUCH.” She repeated in a much harsher tone.

“From when you started crying?” the electric blond boy squeaked out.

“Fuck,” she hissed out in English.

“Oh no,” Kirishima blurted out.

“’Oh no?’” the group repeated with a look of extreme fear reflecting in their eyes.

“You… might want to run now,” Uraraka quietly suggested. “I’ll pray for your safety.”

“Now, w-wait a moment please,” Ashido stammered out and held an arm out, trying to crawl backwards. “We only did this because we got worried.”

“Not my problem,” she raged on. “I’m sure your parents taught you better than this.”

The infuriated pink-haired girl glowered down at the perpetrators, looking like a demon with a grin to match her current persona.

“This is what I do to nosy people.”

And that was when class 1-A knew the full extent of the Takahiro Special when the three member of the Bakusquad showed up in the common room the next day with scattered bandages and gauze all over their face and limbs.

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uniqueuglyfruit · 4 years

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#I mean the poor guy had NO canon personality ( @sauntering-down on this post )

Actually!! While it’s true we know little of Kom’rk, it’s not true we know nothing. We actually know a lot more about him as an individual than generally believed, even from the few scenes he’s in.

To summarize first, Kom’rk, when we first meet him, gives a sense of one who fears the infrequency with which he sees his family has developed into them not caring enough about him to miss him. However, he deflects this with a joke, preventing it from getting too serious. While he seeks validation, it seems he doesn’t want to appear possibly needy or clingy, and when he does get doted on and fussed over, he acts as if it’s not a big deal. Generally, Kom’rk is either easily bored or feels the need to maintain an aloof, bored facade even among family.

At Kyrimorut, Ordo asks Kom’rk to help him with larger tasks, and Kom’rk readily helps him. Despite the fact it seems Kom’rk makes reports through Jaing, in person, Kom’rk is open, almost forward in expressing his concerns―even those that may be simple annoyances. Kom’rk also readily and quickly criticizes his brothers, most especially Ordo, firm but also kind as he does.

To place him in comparison with the other Nulls, he’s closest to Jaing, with whom he has an easy and joking rapport, and it seems he works best professionally with Jaing; this relationship is likely similar to the one Mereel and Ordo have. He has similar preferences and styles of socializing as Mereel, and he and Mereel seem to have similar tastes in what they look for in a social scene. His sense of humor seems most similar to Ordo’s. He’s one of the more extraverted Nulls.

So, very long quote by quote breakdown of what we know (or what I interpret) about Kom’rk and his relationship with some other characters, the latter of which I talk about more than intended, but how characters relate to others is also important.

After his brief appearance as a child, Kom’rk spends most the series as an unseen character, spoken of but never physically present. Much of what we learn first about him is about his significant relationships.

“Fierfek, son, Kom’rk and Jaing can track a flitnat across the galaxy and we can’t find a gang in our own backyard.” (Triple Zero)

“Only ones I haven’t met are Jaing and Kom’rk, and they’re still after Grievous.” (True Colors)

This is the first thing we learn about Kom’rk. It doesn’t establish overly much about Kom’rk’s personality, but it establishes where he is in the scheme of skills and operations the Nulls have. He’s a skilled tracker, and he’s assigned, with Jaing, to track Grievous. And it also establishes an important relationship: Jaing.

Unlike the other Nulls, the long-term assignment that Kom’rk and Jaing are given is a joint op. This is highly unusual, as the Nulls are essentially trained to work as solo operators. This doesn’t suggest anything to me about Kom’rk’s or Jaing’s abilities―they’re tracking Grievous, intensely high value target. Rather, it tells me that Kom’rk and Jaing must work especially well together professionally. And while the Nulls all get along and work well together, it takes a particular kind of rapport for two people to work very closely on a single mission over the course of years.

I’ll get back to this.

“Oh, he’s fine. He’s learning a few saucy tricks from my brother Kom’rk. Good man, Corr.” (True Colors)

“So [Corr] you’ve enjoyed a rich social education with Mereel and Kom’rk, have you?” (True Colors)

The second thing we learn about Kom’rk is he spends time with Corr, and he and Mereel have been influential in shaping Corr’s coming into his own with a marked self-confidence, extraversion, and easy sociability.

There’s no reason to doubt this―Kom’rk may have an assignment on Utapau, but there’s indication that Kom’rk doesn’t necessarily stay there all the time. (I’ll point it out later.)

Judging by the development in Corr, one can judge the difference as reflective of what Kom’rk is like as a person. And it suggests an extravert who enjoys a social scene and is easily sociable, who has similar styles and preferences of socializing as Mereel and likely enjoys similar social settings as Mereel does.

“I saw Kom’rk once, but he doesn’t seem as…” And that was as far as Darman got. (True Colors)

This is an incomplete thought, and there isn’t anything concrete to get from it, really. I just love it. Considering the two Nulls Darman is most familiar with are Ordo and Mereel, it’s safe to say that Kom’rk’s bearing and demeanor strikes Darman at a single glance as different enough from those two to make an impression such.

Of the six Nulls, [Mereel] was the one best able to deal with the demons the Kaminoans had forced on him. But the others—A’den, Kom’rk, Jaing, and Prudii—kept Skirata awake at night to varying degrees. And Ordo… (Order 66)

This is a quote I always pull for the Nulls. I work under the assumption that this isn’t randomly ordered. I always maintain that this is specifically the order from least to most concerned Kal is. Under this, we learn that Kal isn’t overly concerned about Kom’rk. To some degree? Yes. But Kal doesn’t believe Kom’rk needs as much concern as three other Nulls.

It is also, in my belief, a rough ordering of the Nulls from most extraverted to most introverted. (My thoughts on Kal’s association of extraversion with well-adjustment are for another time, even if not elaborating weakens my point here somewhat.) By this conceit, it confirms at this moment Kom’rk as one of the more extraverted Nulls.

Then the hatch opened and Kom’rk stuck his head into the compartment.

“So, nobody missed me,” he said. “I’m gone a year, and nobody baked a cake.”

“Kom’ika…” Skirata got up and embraced him with a crunch of armor plates.

Ordo waited his turn. “Come on, get that bucket off and let’s take a look at you… shab, son, you’re looking thin.”

Kom’rk shrugged, clipping his helmet to his belt. His face did look drawn. (Order 66)

This is meeting adult Kom’rk for the first time. Obviously, of immense significance, despite its brevity.

Now, personally, I choose to understand that the first statement Kom’rk makes actually is of significance, and I choose to believe that, for a fleeting moment, it’s utterly sincere. (Why introduce a character with that if it doesn’t speak to some truth?) Kom’rk is afraid that he’s been gone so long, Kal and Ordo don’t care anymore and they don’t miss him.

But, that’s a weighty statement. One that yells a little too loudly for validation, and would even be needy and clingy. Solution: deflect and diffuse with a joke. Steer the conversation elsewhere before it gets too far down the road toward serious. (Mereel does this all the time, by the way.)

Kom’rk does get the validation he seeks. Kal immediately goes to hug him, and he is concerned about how thin Kom’rk looks. However, despite for a moment fearing he won’t get this reception, Kom’rk simply shrugs. He plays the concern off as if it isn’t of importance―or, he plays off the potential that he isn’t as well as he should be. Or, both.

“Grievous still comes and goes on Utapau, Kal’buir, and he gets visits from interesting allies we didn’t know he had. The Regent of Garis, in fact.”

“And there was I thinking he was in the Republic camp.”

Kom’rk handed Skirata a datachip. “A crumb to toss to Zey—here’s the voice traffic between the two of them, minus the locations, of course. We don’t want Windu or Kenobi charging in there and blowing it before we’ve milked the situation.” He lowered his voice. “And Grievous keeps asking Dooku what’s happened to all these gazillions of droids he was promised, poor old dear. I think he’s been set up.”

“Told you so,” Skirata said. “All propaganda. All osik.”

“Can I have a change of scene, then? It’s boring out there.” (Order 66)

I’d like to note the irreverence in Kom’rk’s tone when talking about Jedi, Grievous, and the assignment Kal gave him. (Compare: Ordo’s staunch acceptance of the lot Kal assigned him, despite deep dissatisfaction with it.)

[Jaing:] “He [Grievous] misses Utapau, obviously. I got a tip-off.”

[Ordo:] “You’re not there, then.”

“No, we’re just tidying up a few loose ends on the Rim.”

“Time we told Zey?”

“Yeah.” Jaing sounded tired. “There’s still something not right about this, but I’m past caring, and so is Kom’ika.” (Order 66)

Here, Kom’rk is indicated to not be at Utapau, instead managing other undisclosed tasks elsewhere.

To return to Kom’rk’s relationship with Jaing, this strikes me as Jaing makes Kom’rk’s sitreps on his behalf, or for the both of them. A little later, Ordo asks Jaing to relay his message to Kom’rk, suggesting to me that when Kom’rk is away, it is normal for Ordo to speak to him indirectly through Jaing.

This gives more of a weight to the possibility that Kom’rk fears Ordo and Kal are unconcerned about him, because he is more distant than the others, but it also speaks of a certain kind of dynamic: not only is Kom’rk rarely heard from directly for us the reader, but he is also rarely heard from directly for narrating characters like Ordo.

It is worth remembering here that of all the Nulls, Kom’rk is away from home base for the longest periods, at one time gone for a year.

Why Kom’rk may communicate indirectly through Jaing, if such is true, is unclear. Perhaps for efficiency. It is redundant to have both Jaing and Kom’rk report the same information. Perhaps it speaks to strain in his relationship with Kal.

Good time to talk about his relationship with Ordo.

“Is it going to burn properly?” Kom’rk asked. “Do you want some accelerant on the pyre?”

Ordo thought that was a good idea, and wondered how it could be done discreetly. (Order 66)

When Ordo and Kom’rk had herded the whole clan into the karyai… (501st)

While I may suggest that there’s possibly strain in his relationship with Kal, I hesitate to suggest such with Ordo. (Full disclosure: Ordo is my favorite.)

I say this because when Ordo needs two large tasks done, one of which is a delicate and emotionally charged matter, Ordo asks Kom’rk for help, and Kom’rk gives it. While one may chalk it up to necessity, the sincerity with which Kom’rk helps Ordo with the pyre speaks to me otherwise,

“They’ve completely overhauled the system overnight, Ord’ika.” Kom’rk took back the ’pad. “Data, comms, everything. We can’t get in. We can’t take stuff out. We can’t talk or listen at will. We can’t spy.”

It was the first time Ordo could recall when he and his brothers had not been able to get at anything they wanted. […] “It’s more an annoyance,” Ordo said at last. […] “None of this is beyond you or me to bypass, and Mereel or Jaing can crack this over a cup of caf.”

“I’m sure we can, but we’re starting over. The whole system’s changed. We’ve been used to being on the inside, exploiting opportunities, but if we want to keep that level of access, we’re going to have to start working harder.”

“Apart from extracting our brothers, why is this urgent?”

Kom’rk shrugged. “Just in case.”

And we hate being shut out. Ordo and his brothers were used to being in control. “We still can’t comm Darman or Niner, then?”

“No, and we can’t even get a medical sitrep on Niner. Or find out where Darman is. Because it’s the Imperial Army now.” (Order 66)

Ruu left, taking her plate with her, and Kom’rk raised an eyebrow at Ordo.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, ner vod, but you lack sensitivity. Poor woman didn’t go looking for Kal’buir. We abducted her.”

“She knows the score.”

“So you’re happy now.”

“Less tense, let’s say.” (501st)

Despite my saying Kom’rk appears distant over comms, in person with Ordo, he is almost forward. He is open with his concerns and has no issue quickly and concisely stating them, even if they’re ultimately simply annoyances rather than urgent matters.

I don’t interpret forwardness as a sign of strain―Kom’rk comes across firm, but not unkind. As someone with multiple siblings, I can say this tone is common, especially when sincerely and without malice trying to help a sibling address a flaw they have.

Frankly, as I see it, it is suggested that Kom’rk’s relationship with Ordo is a direct, open, and straightforward one. Also, is it possible that the deflection he displays earlier is for Kal, rather than Ordo? (Full disclosure: I do not like Kal and am heavily biased against him.)

Additionally, though the inability to hack into the military mainframe is relevant to the situation with Niner and Darman, Kom’rk’s concerns over it are not framed that way. Kom’rk is mostly concerned they have no access and his frustration of being shut out. He also appears aware Ordo may not consider this urgent―Ordo does not―but that doesn’t stop him from mentioning it. While it’s one part thoroughness, one part some relevance to a problem they have, I also think it’s two parts feeling able to express even minor concerns to Ordo.

“Son, you know how many times we’ve pulled that stunt?” Skirata asked.

“Yes. You know how many times it’s worked?” [said Prudii.]

Kom’rk inspected his fingernails. “Well, that’s another problem they’ve brought upon themselves—it’s not like they can take our DNA to prove who we are. Or stick us in a lineup. (501st)

I just wanted to point out behavior indicative of boredom. This is the second time. So, at this point, I’d feel safe assuming Kom’rk is either easily bored or feels the need to maintain a bored, aloof facade, even around family. (I’d also note both are around Kal, and he doesn’t exhibit this when not around Kal, your mileage may vary due to the small number of instances.)

Kom’rk had claimed a corner [of the workshop Jaing set up] to himself and was hunched over a 2-D holochart, tapping numbers into a datapad, completely absorbed in the calculation.

“Who’d have thought it, Bard’ika?” Jaing said, not looking up from the screen in front of him. “Saucy old di’kut, showing up like that. Moral of the story—always go back and check for a pulse.”

“Ordo’s never going to live that down,” Kom’rk muttered. “Ha… ha…” (501st)

Again, support for works well professionally with Jaing.

Also since everyone and their pet strill is probably ribbing Ordo in absentia about how he was wrong about Maze shooting Zey, especially Ordo who is always right and whose entire reputation rides on his being right, perhaps Kom’rk is tired of this topic already. A drawn out laugh like that is often flat-toned: “[mocking tone] Ordo’s never going to live that one down. [unamused] Ha… ha…”

Seeing as Jaing finds this whole thing funny, Kom’rk who doesn’t appear to find it funny at all, serves counterpoint. Likely speaks to at least a concern for how Ordo is taking it, or an empathy for how Ordo will not find this funny himself at all. Kom’rk is either tired of an overplayed joke making fun of Ordo at Ordos expense or isn’t a fan of making fun of Ordo for something Ordo cannot also laugh about. Probably speaks to Kom’rk’s sensibilities or again overall relationship with Ordo.

“Still, it’s hard to cap someone who’s just standing there looking pathetic, even when you know you’ll regret it one day if you don’t.”

“I’ll do it,” Kom’rk said. “Nothing personal. Just necessary.”

“Or we could use them to our advantage.” Jaing tapped his finger on the pile of flimsi. “Because one day, the Empire’s going to really tick us off, and we’ll need the skills of some saber-jockeys who owe us.”

Kom’rk laughed. “They’ve owed a lot of people for a long time. Don’t see much of them repaying their debts.” (501st)

“Of course, if we know where they’re holed up, we could just wipe out the rest of them now,” Kom’rk said. “Or even do a deal with the Empire. But I don’t trust any of them.” (501st)

Pragmatic. Cynical. Negative about the Jedi.

Yes, traits that are said to be shared among all the Nulls to varying degrees, but it’s nice to actually see them.

“Let’s not be too hasty. We know where their bolt-holes are, and with a little ingenuity we can track their movements. They step out of line—the Empire gets a treasure map with here be Jedi on it.”

Kom’rk laughed again. “That boy’s sick.”

“You got that location yet?” Jaing asked. “Chop-chop. Get a move on.”

“In a minute. It’s looking like the Plawal Rift.” (501st)

Again, more support for his rapport with Jaing. And this exchange demonstrates a different energy and tone he has with Ordo. Where he is much more straightforward in his exchanges with Ordo, he has more jest and hard edges for Jaing. It’s a balanced push and pull, and almost a series of little playful jabs.

Now, I’ve talked already a lot about Kom’rk and Jaing, but here, in this moment, is where I feel most that their relationship is similar to the one Mereel and Ordo have, that very balanced counterpoint and deep, unspoken understanding. Just as much as one better understands both Ordo and Mereel as individuals through their relationship, I think it’s possible to have the same with Jaing and Kom’rk.

“Ordo thinks I’m going soft on my old associates,” Jusik said. “I can’t blame him.”

“Are you?” [said Kom’rk.]

“Do you think I am?”

“Nah. Do you want me to shoot you if you are?”

Kom’rk had that kind of deadpan humor. But humor had its serious purpose in life.

“Yes,” Jusik said, half-meaning it. “Make it before I do any real damage.”

Jaing just looked up at Kom’rk, the slightest pause as if it wasn’t funny.

“You got it, ner vod,” Kom’rk said, and went back to his holochart. (501st)

This again speaks to an understanding of Kom’rk that Jaing has that other people may not, or at least that’s how I read Jaing’s hesitation while Jusik is still trying to figure out how serious Kom’rk really is.

Also, Kom’rk’s sense of humor, laid out in exposition. Much like Ordo, he’s dry―though even more dry than even Ordo is, it seems. But it does say a lot about him that agreeing to shoot his adoptive brother is conceivably something he’d say as a joke. Or, maybe it suggests something about his opinion of Jusik.

And that’s everything we know about Kom’rk, and what we can possibly glean it all. Social, dry witted, distant. But close with his brothers, most especially Jaing, likely Mereel, and readily but kindly criticizing Ordo. Possibly worries about how much his family actually cares, but masks it under jokes to not come across as needy. Both open and distant when it comes to communicating, depending on context. It’s true we have very little proper scenes with him, and be clearly is the least developed of the six Nulls, but we actually know a lot more about him and what he’s like than generally believed.

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imitationpersonne · 5 years

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BNHA Chapter 215 Review aka I’m So Fucking Tired

So after 24 hours of shitty-brain-chemicals mini-crisis and reading the full pages and translation of chapter 215, I return...to confirm that yep, I’m still fuckin’ pissed.

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Warning: If you’re not prepared for chart-topping Reddit-‘fandom’ levels of salt, shade, and bitterness with a whole lot of fucks mixed in, I suggest you read no further.

Let’s just do this page-by-page, shall we.

Oh my god, FINALLY. It’s already been five minutes; we’ve waited so long for this whole ‘scary new power’ phase to be over. Five whole minutes, y’all! Wow.

I mean, ya not wrong, buddy! You pretty much can do anything if Mr. Author’s plot dictates it. Because who gives a fuck about feeling like there are any stakes in anything or making the world seem real; amirite, Hori?

Shinsou again with the super relatability. P sure a lot of us are goddamn incredulous about the overplayed ‘struggling with new quirk manifestation’ drama, now that Izuku is magically instantly proficient. Because that’s how quirks have worked up until this point.......

Oh no...! Back down to 8% with no air force attack for a hot second?? WHAT A NERF! Whatever will he do?? ...Oh. Still win everything. So who gives a fuck. Does anybody really believe these percentages don’t just mean whatever Hori wants them to at any given moment anyway?

Yo, I’m sorry. Apologizing for the author who hyped some fantastic MonoShin collaboration and then did everything he could to prevent that from happening. Bitch.

But then...they did? Sooooooooo...? What the fuck’s the point of Shinsou recovering his mask and going for another plan? Legit nothing came of this. Why does this panel--no, most of this chapter even exist?? Like I get that it’s supposed to look like a struggle between the teams, but it’s all just...super contrived the way it ends, my dudes. This is bullshit writing, k.

Okay, I frickin’ loved this scene. I can be mad as all hell and still admit this was enjoyable. The quirk meta, the mind games, and Monoma’s zero-grav hair.

Okay, but did he really need another fucking limit on his quirk??? Time limit, one-at-a-time limit, potentially type limit (not able to copy mutant quirks--but that’s just speculation/headcanon for now)...and now number limit? WHILE IZUKU IS GETTING SIX WHOLE FUCKING PERMA-QUIRKS FOR GODDAMN FREE??

YEAH OKAY, LET’S TALK ABOUT THAT. I saw a post I mostly disagreed with and disliked (and don’t care to identify or quote; I can’t even remember whose it was or anything) saying this six-new-abilities ability is going to erase the need for a ton of other already-existing characters. Sero, as an example, since Black Whip basically usurps his specialty and more. On principle, as the worldbuilding has stood up until this point, I disagreed that characters like Sero would become useless. The way society has been trending, teamwork has been increasingly essential and encouraged. That means two people with lasso/tape-like quirks would do just fine! There can be more than one person with a similar quirk! Hell, that’s all Monoma’s quirk is--a temporary second of one that already exists. OR TETSUTETSU AND KIRISHIMA MUCH? They’re both useful! Even together!

So as a general principle, people with similar quirks can and do exist just fine in the same universe and even same space and role. The danger exists only if the author is so irresponsible as to consciously edge out the other characters by letting his pet character take care of everything by himself. Which seems like exactly what Izuku’s new six-quirks is at risk of doing now. Sure, argue Uraraka was useful and that Izuku relied on her this time, mmkay, but wait until he gets his own antigrav quirk, lol. Like, at this point, I honestly don’t trust Hori not to fuck up the beautiful character synergies and contrasts he’s already built. Because he sure did fuck up a lot of things that had great potential this arc already. Often by stepping on the ‘little’ guys. Fuck you, Tokage didn’t deserve that, and Baku didn’t deserve to dominate that hard. Where is the goddamn sense of struggle and achievement? Aight, that’s a rant for another day...

Anyway, back on track, call me biased as hell, but usurping the specialty of the guy whose ONLY NICHE WAS BEING THE ONLY ONE WITH VERSATILE MULTI-QUIRK USAGE? AND GAINING MULTIPLE QUIRKS BUT WITHOUT SEVERAL OF MONOMA’S LIMITING FACTORS? Gooooooooooo fuck yourself, ‘blessed boy’.

But...HE DIDN’T, THOUGH? Monoma’s ace-in-the-hole surprise Twin Impact stunned Mr. Protagonist for an amazing two whole seconds! Because of course; the fuck were we all thinking hoping other people mattered in this story or stood a chance against plot-device-convenient auto-scaling levels of OP? Like why even try tbh???

Shinsou fucking gets it. We all get it; it was an amazing play. But protagonist privilege too strong; what the fuck can you do.

Oh yep, here’s a more accurate translation, given the goddamn results.

Hahahahaha, amazing, even literally everybody in-character gets it. Team 5-B had every right to win this shit. But then...!

Oh boy!!! Generic shonen anime protagonist inspiration spiel to the contrived-Hori-plot rescue! Now, with these magic thoughts, he will win! Amazing how that works!

Well yeah, no shit, it makes sense for you to have that kind of confidence, considering that’s legit how your protagonist life works. Congrats on the contrived win, dude; I know you’re not surprised. Y’all, I know this isn’t in-world Izuku’s fault; he’s doing his best which is what he should be doing. It’s the shitty writing, plain and simple. Don’t blame the kid that gets everything; blame the one who spoils them at the expense of others. So perhaps calling me petty would be deserved, but my bitterness can’t help but leak out towards the character as well; it’s just human nature. I don’t like Baku as much as I used to either, because all the interesting bits are gone now that he’s OP and comparably perfect. At least Hori kinda kicked Shouto to the OP-privilege curb a little; makes him more realistic, relatable, and likable.

Ohhhh god, generic shonen anime faux-inspirational epilogue to put the icing on the shit cake; brb gagging.

Alright, so let’s summarize all the implied morals to the story here!:

Things turned around at the very end for basically no other reason than Hori wanted Team Protag to win.

All the dipshits were actually right; class B is legit inferior to class A, as evidenced by the results of literally every time they’ve directly faced each other. 1 win to 3 this time, bitch, and don’t make me remind of the sports festival. Even though B class clearly has better teamwork and synergy. Screw that, A more powerful, A smash. A main character class; A win.

Monoma, your backstory classmates were right, turns out! You are apparently an ineffective hero student who just keeps losing! You’ll never be more than a side character to be used, abused, and discarded. Fuck your aspirations, fan-fucking-tastic.

Shinsou, don’t kid yourself; you haven’t fucking changed. You got beaten by the same dude in nearly the exact same fashion. Your entire arc was fucking pointless; have fun in general studies! (In honesty, if Hori has any remaining shred of sensibility, I think he might let Shinsou into hero course anyway? Did they ever say Shinsou technically had to win both of his matches? Or just show progress? Who fucking knows at this point.)

Everybody who didn’t need to be reminded they’re great won. Are you not inspired?

Beautiful. Beautiful goddamn arc, Horikoshi; you taught us the important things in this world. Applause. I will honestly punch myself in the face in ecstatic shock if Hori manages to pull some way out of his ass to make this a satisfying conclusion.

My final thoughts:

Fuck this shit, I’m out.

#ooc #bnha 215 #bnha manga #monoma neito #monoma #shinsou hitoshi #shinsou #MonoShin #shinoma #class 1b #cw: rant #cw: fandom negativity

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