#somehow I will drag folks into “Transformers Animated” at least

[newtafterdark]

I wanted to post that yesterday, but forgor-

I can now officially say that I have set through all of the Michael Bay Transformers movies (with my friend Syber).

First movie? Can recommend. You can smell the time it was made in on it, but you will be entertained. Second movie? Passable & still watchable.

And now I am going to hold you gently by the shoulders and tell you that that's exactly where you will stop, okay? That is for your own good and health.

The worst one of the remaining three? Age of Extinction.

Folks, I have seen many bad movies. I have sat through below 10% rating movies on Rotten Tomatoes. I have watched the TGWTG anniversary movies multiple times in my life.

This was worse. So much worse. This was exhausting. "Age of Extinction" feels like a hike that does not end. You and your friends keep asking "How far down the path are we?" and you realize you've only walked a few feet in the last 30 minutes.

But I have prevailed. Syber and I both have made it.

And as a treat we watched the Bumblebee movie and MAN is that movie great! Far better than the first Bay movie too in my honest opinion. It is what a modern Transformers movie should always have been & I am glad it exists. :>

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Dark”

Welcome back, everyone! Can you believe it's been six weeks already? I can't. Something something the uncomfortable passage of time during a pandemic as emphasized by a web-series.

But we're here to talk about RWBY the fictional story, not RWBY the cultural icon. At least, we will in a moment. First, I'd like to acknowledge that shaky line between the two, growing blurrier with every volume. A sort of good news, bad news situation.

The bad news — to get that out of the way — is that we cannot easily separate RWBY from its authors and those authors have, sadly, been drawing a lot of negative attention as of late. This isn't anything new, not at all, but I think the unexpectedly long hiatus gave a lot of fans (myself included) the chance to think about Rooster Teeth's failings without getting distracted by their biggest and brightest production. There's a laundry list of problems here — everything from the behavior of voice actors to the quality of their merch — but as a sort of summary issue, I'd like to highlight the reviews that continue to pop up on websites like Glassdoor, detailing the toxic, sexist, crunch-obsessed environment that RT employees are forced to work in. A lot of these websites requires a login to read more than a page of reviews, but you can check out a Twitter thread about it here. 

Now, I want to be clear: I'm not bringing this up as a way to shame anyone enjoying RWBY. This isn't a simplistic claim of, "The authors are Problematic™ and therefore you can't like the stuff they produce." Nor is this meant to be a catch-all excuse for RWBY's problems. If it were, I'd have dropped these recaps years ago. I'm of the belief that audiences maintain the right to both praise and criticize the work they're given, regardless of the context in which that work was produced. At the end of the day, RT has presented RWBY as a finished product and, more than that, presents it as an excellent product, one worth both our emotional investment and our money (whether in the form of paying for a First account, or encouraging us to buy merch, attend cons, etc.) I'll continue to critique RWBY as needed, but I a) wanted fans to be at least peripherally aware of these issues and b) clarify that my use of "RT" in statements like, "I can't believe RT is screwing up this badly" is meant to be a broad, nebulas acknowledgement that someone in the company is screwing up, either creatively (doesn't have the skill to write a good scene) or morally (hasn't created an environment in which other creators are capable of crafting a good scene). The real, inner workings of such companies are mostly a secret to their audiences and thus it's near impossible for someone like me — random fan writing these for fun as a casual side hobby — to accurately point fingers. Hence, broad "RT." I just wanted to clarify that when I use this it's as a necessary placeholder for whoever is actually responsible, not a damnation of the overworked animator breaking down in a bathroom. Heavy stuff, but I thought it was necessary (or at least worthwhile) to acknowledge this issue as we head into the second half of the volume.

Now for the good news: RWBY has reached 100 episodes! For any who may not know, 100 is a pretty significant number in the TV world because, when talking about prime time programming, it guarantees syndicated reruns. Basically, networks don't want audiences to get burned out with a show — changing the channel when it comes on because ugh, I've seen this already, recently too — and 100 episodes allows for a roughly five month run without any repeats, making it very profitable. RWBY is obviously not a television show and doesn't benefit from any of this (hell, modern television doesn't benefit from this as much as it used to, not in the age of streaming), but the 100 episode threshold is still ingrained in American culture. Beyond just being a nice, rounded number, it is historically a measure of huge success and I can't imagine that RT isn't aware of that. Regardless of what we think of RWBY's current quality, this is one hell of a milestone and should be applauded.

All that being said... RWBY's quality is definitely still lacking lol.

Our 100th episode is titled "Dark" — keeping with the one word titles, then — and I'd like to emphasize that, as a 100th episode, it definitely delivers in terms of plot. There's plenty of action, important character beats, and at least one major reveal, everything we'd expect from a milestone and a Part II premiere. The animation also continues to be noteworthy for its beauty, as I found myself admiring many of the screenshots I took for this recap. There are certainly things to praise. The only problem (one we're all familiar with by now) is that these small successes are situated within a narrative that's otherwise falling apart. It's all good stuff... provided you ignore literally everything else surrounding it.

But let's dive into some examples. We open on Qrow starting, awoken by the thunder outside. Robyn has been watching him and makes a peppy comment about how none of them will be sleeping tonight, followed by a more serious, "Sounds bad out there." Yeah, it does sound bad, especially when they all know — thanks to Ruby's message back in Volume 7 — that this is due to Salem's arrival. I think a lot of the fandom has forgotten that little detail because people often discuss Qrow as if he is entirely ignorant of what is going on outside his cell. Even if we were to assume that he's forgotten all about the pesky Salem issue (the horror of Clover's death overriding everything else, perhaps) he still knows that Tyrian is running loose in a heat-less city with a creepy storm going on and, from his perspective, the Very Evil Ironwood is still running the show. So it's bad, which begs the question of why Qrow (and Robyn, for that matter) hasn't displayed an ounce of legitimate worry for everyone he knows out there. Thus far, their interactions have centered entirely around Qrow's misplaced blame and Robyn's terrible attempts to lighten the mood, despite the fact that a war is raging right beyond that wall. It's another example of RWBY's inability to manage tone properly, to say nothing of balancing the multiple concerns any one character should be trying to juggle. Just as it rankles that Ruby and Yang don't seem to care about what has happened to their uncle, Qrow likewise doesn't seem to care about what might be happening to his nieces. When did we reach a point where these relationships are so broken that someone can be arrested/chucked into a deadly battle and the others just... ignore that?

So Robyn's otherwise innocuous comment immediately reminds me of how badly the narrative has treated these conflicts and, sadly, things don't improve much from here. We are thankfully spared more of Robyn's jokes when Qrow realizes that what he's hearing can't be thunder. A second later, Cinder blasts through the wall — called it! — and Qrow instinctively transforms. 

The only downside to this moment is that the whole ceiling falls down on Qrow and the others because APPARENTLY these cells don't have tops on them. Seriously. As far as I can recall we don't see the stone breaking through the forcefield somehow and this looks pretty open to me.

If it is... you're telling me these crazy powerful fighters who practice landing strategies and leap tall buildings in a single bound —

— can't just hop over this mildly high electric fence to get out? Qrow can't just fly away?

We're, like, two minutes in, folks.

We transfer to Nora's perspective as she wakes up, seeing Klein giving her the IV. He tells her not to worry, that "you and your friend are going to be just fine." What friend? Penny? Klein went upstairs prior to Weiss hugging Whitley or Penny crash landing outside. I had thought them bursting through the door with another unconscious friend was the first time he learned what the big bang outside was, but apparently not.

Penny is, obviously, a mess. While I now understand the choice to make her blood such an eye-catching color when that's crucial to the Hound's hunt, I still think it looks strange visually. Like someone has taken a copy of RWBY and painted over it. It doesn't look like it fits the art style. More than that, it implies some rather complicated things about Penny's humanity, especially in a volume focused around her being a "real girl." Real enough for Maiden powers, but with obviously inhuman blood that isn't even referred to as "bleeding." Penny "leaks" instead.

Toss in the fact that she's literally an android who is made up of tech — recall the running gags about her being heavy, or it hurts to fist-bump her, to say nothing of keeping things like multiple blades inside her body — yet Klein says that her "basic anatomy" is the same and he can "stitch up that wound."

I'm sorry, what? Whatever Penny looks like on the inside, it's not going to resemble a human woman's anatomy, and Klein might be able to stitch the outer layer of skin she's got, but that won't do anything to fix whatever metal bits have been broken underneath. Penny isn't a human-robot hybrid, she's a robot with an aura. Penny has knives in her back, rockets in her feet, and a super computer behind her eyes. When our clip introduced that Klein would be the one to help Penny, my initial reaction was, "Seriously? He's a butler and a doctor and an engineer?" But RWBY didn't even try to get away with a Super Klein explanation, they just waved away Penny's very obvious, inhuman anatomy. Yeah, I'm sure "stitching up" an android wound is just like giving Nora her IV. I hope the surgical sutures he used are extra strong!

In an effort to not entirely drag this episode, I do appreciate that Whitley is allowed an "ugh" moment about the non-blood covering his shirt without anyone calling him out on it. That felt like the sort of thing the show would usually try to make a character feel guilty about and I'm glad that, for once, he was just allowed to be frustrated without comment.

Then the power goes out and May calls, which raises questions about what state the CCTS is in and when scrolls are available to our protagonists vs. when they're not. But whatever. She's checking in because she just "saw another bombing run light up the Kingdom" and —

Wait. Bombing? Salem is bombing the city? I know we've seen explosions in the sky, but I'd always just attributed that to evil aesthetic. Why does this dialogue sound like it's from a World War II film and not a fantasy sci-fi show about literal monsters launching a ground attack?

May looks pretty against the sky though. I like her hair color against that purple.

I'm admittedly grasping at positives here because we finally return to her "You have to choose" ultimatum and — surprise! — May has pulled back completely. Ruby says that once they've helped Penny, "We'll...we'll do something!" which is once again her avoiding making a decision. Ruby still refuses to choose, instead falling back on generic, optimistic pep talks. They'll figure out how to stop Salem later. They'll think about the impact of telling the world later. They'll choose who to help later. Ruby keeps pushing these problems into the future where, she hopes, a perfect, magical solution will have appeared for her to latch onto. When that continues to not happen, others pressuring her to actually do something and stop waiting for perfection — Ironwood, Yang, May — she panics and continues stalling for time. Wait an episode and the narrative supports her in this.

Because initially May was forcing Ruby to decide. Now, May enables her desire to keep putting things off. "Don't beat yourself up, kid. At this point, I don't know how much is left to be done." That's the exact opposite of what May believed last episode, that there was still so much work and good to do for the people of Mantle. This is precisely what the show did with Yang and Ren's scenes too, having people call Ruby out... but then return to a message of, 'Don't worry, you're actually doing just fine' before Ruby is forced to actually change.

None of which even touches on May calling her "kid" in this moment. That continues to be a convenient way of absolving Ruby of any responsibility. When she wants to steal airships or Amity Tower, she's an adult everyone should listen to, the leader of this war. When the story wants to absolve her of previously mentioned flaws, she becomes a kid who shouldn't "beat herself up." I said years ago that RWBY couldn't continue to let the group be both children and adults simultaneously, yet here we are.

So that was a thoroughly disappointing scene. Ruby gets her moment to look sad and defeated, listing "the grimm, the crater, Nora, Penny" as problems she doesn't know how to solve. Note that 'Immortal witch attacking the city I've helped trap here' isn't included in that list. Ruby is still ignoring Salem herself and no one in the group is picking up where May left off, challenging her to do more than wring her hands over things others are already trying to take care of: Ironwood is fighting the grimm, May has gone off to help the crater, Klein is patching up Nora and Penny. Ruby, as one flawed individual, should not be expected to come up with a solution to everything, but she does need to stop acting like she can come up with a solution to everything when it matters most (office scene) and rejecting others' solutions when they ask for her help (Ironwood, May).

If it feels like I'm dragging the flawed, traumatized teenager too much, it's not in an effort to ignore those aspects of her identity. Rather, it's because she's also the licensed huntress who wrested control from a world leader and violently demanded she be put in charge of this battle. Ruby, by her own actions, is now responsible for dealing with these problems, or admitting she was wrong and letting others take the lead, without purposefully derailing their plans. She doesn't get to suddenly go, "I don't know," cry a little, and get sympathetic pats.

But of course that's precisely what happens, courtesy of Weiss.

During this whole scene I kept wondering why no one was celebrating Nora waking up, especially when Ruby outright mentions her. Have they just not noticed given all the Penny drama? Because Nora absolutely woke up.

Aaaand went back to sleep, I guess. What was the point of that POV shot? No worries though, she'll wake up again in a minute.

Willow arrives and announces that they can fix the power (and Penny) using the generator at the edge of the property. I'm convinced RT doesn't actually know what a generator is because the characters are acting like it's some super special device that only richy-rich could possibly have. Whitley says that it's the SDC executives who have their "own power supply" and that it's "extremely unfair." Now, don't get me wrong, a good generator powering large portions of your house can run you 30k+, but you can also get one that plugs into your extension cord and powers your fridge for a couple hundred. There's absolutely a class issue here, just not the one Whitley and Weiss seem to be commenting on. They make a generator sound like the sort of device that only a politician-CEO could possible have and it's weird.

Likely, it sounds weird because it's a choppy way of getting Whitley to bring up the wealth disparity so he can then go, 'That's right! We're crazy rich with a company housing tons of ships! We can use those to evacuate Mantle.' Awkwardness aside, I do like that the Schnee wealth is being used for good purposes, but... evacuate where? To the city currently under attack by a giant whale? In a RWBY that wasn't determined to demonize Ironwood, this would have been a great plot point during the office scene instead, with Weiss offering her services to Ironwood, even if the group decides that a continued evacuation still isn't possible.

Instead, we get it here from Whitley. Do I need to point out the obvious? That Whitley is the MVP of this episode? He's done more good in an HOUR than the group has managed in a year. Give this kid some training and make him a huntsmen instead.

We're given a (very pretty!) shot of the shattered moon because it wouldn't be RWBY if we weren't continually reminded that gods once wiped out humanity before destroying part of a celestial body... and absolutely no one talks about that lol.

Blake's coat might not make any sense for her color scheme, but it does make her easy to spot as she and Ruby run across the grounds. Oh my god, they're actually doing something together! It only took eight years. They even get a lovely talk where Blake admits how much she looks up to Ruby, despite her being younger, and once again I'm struck at how much more I would have loved this scene if it had appeared elsewhere in the series. It is, indeed, as sweet and emotional as all the RWBY GIF-ers are claiming... provided you overlook that this is the exact opposite of what Ruby needs to hear right now. She doesn't need to hear that she's more mature and reliable than her elders when she's functioning under a "We don't need adults" mentality. She doesn't need to hear that not knowing what to do is totally fine, not when that led to her turning on Ironwood, despite not knowing how to stop Salem. She doesn't need to hear that "doing something" — doing anything — is a strength, because Ruby keeps avoiding the big problems for smaller ones she's comfortable with, like standing by Penny's bedside instead of deciding between Mantle and Atlas. Blake's speech is heartfelt, but it's a speech that suits a Beacon days Ruby who is having some doubts about her leadership skills, not the girl whose impulsive — and now lack of — actions is having world-wide repercussions. Everyone is babying Ruby to a staggering degree. It's like if we had a med show where the doctor is standing by the bedside of a coding patient, fretting between two treatments. 'Don't worry,' their colleague says, patting their shoulder. 'I've always looked up to you. You'll do something when you're ready' and then they continue to watch the patient, you know, die.

Also: who does Ruby look up to? Everyone talks about how much they depend on and trust Ruby, but who does Ruby look to for guidance? A number of her problems stem from the fact that she has rejected the advice of everyone who has tried to help her improve: Qrow, Ozpin, Ironwood, even Yang. Ruby is presented as the pinnacle of what to strive for in a leader, rather than a leader who has only been doing this for two years and still has a great deal to learn.

Anyway, they get the generator on and the Hound shows up.

I am begging RT to just make RWBY a horror story. All their best scenes the last three years have been horror I am bEGGING —

Anyway, while Ruby waits to be eaten we cut to Willow and Klein, the former of which is reaching for her bottle, pulling back, reaching again, all while her hand shakes. This is good. This is what we should have gotten with Qrow. Which isn't to say that their (or anyone's) addiction should be identical, but rather that this is a far more engaging and complex look at addiction than what our birb got. Willow tells us that she doesn't drink in the dark despite bringing the bottle with her; tries to resist drinking when she's scared and ultimately fails. Qrow just decided to stop drinking after decades of addiction, seemingly for no reason, and that was that. Why is a side character we only met this volume written better than one of the main cast?

Blake manages to call Weiss about the Hound and she asks if Whitley can handle the airships without her. I mean, I assume so given that Weiss is looking at the bookshelves while Whitley does all the work lol. He makes a teasing comment about how he can if she can handle that grimm and she comments that they still need to work on his "attitude."

No they don't. Weiss stuck a weapon in her kid brother's face. Whitley made a joke. Even if Weiss' comment is likewise meant to be read as teasing, it's clear that we've bypassed any meaningful conversation between them. That hug was supposed to be a Fix Everything moment even though, as I've laid out elsewhere, it didn't even come close.

We cut back to Ruby getting thrown through a wall into the backyard and the Hound creepily coming after her. She's freaked out by this clearly abnormal grimm and Blake is weirdly... not? "It's just a grimm. Just focus!" Uh, it's obviously not. Have we reached the traumatized, sleep-deprived point where the group is sinking into full-blown denial? I wouldn't be surprised. They've been awake for like... 40+ hours.

Because the Hound knocks Ruby out with a single hit. Just, bam, she's down. "Focusing" is not the solution here.

Weiss calls to warn the others about the grimm, telling them to stick together. Willow (understandably) starts freaking out and flees the room (classic horror trope!). Klein is left alone when Penny wakes up with red eyes. Oh no!

Don't worry. You know nothing meaningful happens.

She shoves Klein before (somehow?) resisting the hack, her Maiden powers going wild in the process. Just when it looks as if Penny might cause some serious damage, Nora wakes up, takes her hand, and says, I kid you not:

"Hey... no one is going to make you do anything you don't want to do... It's just a part of you. Don't forget about the rest."

Okay. I want to re-emphasize that I love hopeful, uplifting, victory-won-through-the-power-of-love stories. Istg I'm not dead inside, it's just that RWBY does this so badly. I mean, what is this? It has similarities to the character shouting, 'No! Resist!' to their mind-controlled ally, but this is not presented as a desperate, last-ditch effort by Nora. She just speaks like this is the most obvious truth in the world. If you don't want to have your mind taken over... just don't! It's that simple. The problem definitely isn't that Watts has changed her coding and has implemented a command she can't override, it's that Penny has forgotten about the "rest" of her personhood.

And this works. Granted, not for long, but we leave Nora having successfully calmed Penny down and until her eyes unexpectedly go red again scenes later, we're left assuming that this is a permanent solution. That, imo anyway, is taking the Power of Love too far, overriding the basic reality of Penny being hacked. It’s not a personal failing she must overcome, it’s an external attack. I would have rather had Nora react to the scars she saw on her arm, or have a moment with Klein, or get some love from the group. Not a wakes up, falls asleep, wakes up again to save Penny with a Ruby level 'Just ignore reality' pep-talk, then back to sleep again.

So Penny isn't attacking her allies, or mistakenly hurting her allies with wild Maiden powers. Not that the group doesn't have enough to deal with, but still. Weiss arrives to help with the Hound and attempts a new summon, only to fail when two minor grimm burrow up into her glyphs. I really enjoyed that moment, both for the wing visual and the knowledge that Weiss' glyphs can fail if you break them somehow (which makes sense). Also, I just like that she failed in general? Weiss is, as per usual now, about to demonstrate just how OP she is compared to the rest of the team, so it was nice to see her faltering here.

The Hound tries to make off with Ruby and Blake does an excellent job of keeping it tethered. Ruby finally wakes, only to realize that the grimm is actually after Penny since it's staring at her power up through the window, no longer trying to escape. Moments like this remind me that there's someone on RT's writing team that knows what they're doing, at least some of the time. The assumption that the Hound is after Ruby as a SEW, the surprise that it's actually Penny, realizing it holds up because Ruby is covered in Penny's blood and Blake is not... that's all nice, tight plotting. More of that please!

The Hound drops her and Ruby's aura shatters when she hits the ground. I want everyone to remember this moment as an example of how strong the Hound is. The group may be tired, but unlike YJR they've been sitting around in the Schnee manor for a number of hours, regaining strength. We saw the Hound hit Ruby twice — once through the wall and once to knock her out — and then she falls from a not very high distance for a huntress, yet her aura is toast. That's the level of power and skill the Hound possesses. Decimating YJR, knocking Oscar out, same for Ruby, avoiding Blake and Weiss' hits, soon to treat Penny like a ragdoll. Just remember all this for the episode's end.

Blake tells Weiss she'll take care of Ruby, you go help the others. Yay breaking up the duos more! Bad timing though as the new acid-spitting grimm pops out of the ground and Blake is now left alone to face it.

Weiss re-enters the mansion, knowing the Hound is somewhere nearby, but not where. Suddenly, Willow's voice sounds through her scroll with an, "Above you!" which... doesn't keep Weiss from getting hit lol. But it's the thought that counts! Willow has accessed the cameras she's set up throughout the manor, watching the Hound's movements, and I have to say, that is a WAY better use of her separation from Klein than I thought we were getting. I legit thought they'd have Willow run away in a panic, meet the Hound, die, and then Weiss could be sad about losing her mom.

It does say something about RWBY's writing that this was my knee-jerk theory, as well as my surprise when we got something way better.

The Hound runs off, uninterested in Weiss, and she asks Willow to keep tabs on it. It heads for Whitley next (also covered in Penny's blood) and very creepily stalks him in the office with a, "I know you're here." Whitley is seconds away from being Hound chow before one of Weiss' boars pin it against the wall. He runs, then runs BACK to finish deploying the airships, before finally escaping assumed death. Goddamn this boy is pulling his weight.

I assume all these ships are automated then? I hope someone takes a moment to call May. Otherwise it's going to be super weird for the Mantle citizens if a fleet of SDC ships just show up and hover there...

I don't entirely understand how Weiss saved him though. She's nowhere to be seen when Whitley leaves and he runs a fair distance before he and Willow encounter Weiss again. We know her summons don't have to keep right next to her, but are they capable of rudimentary thought, attacking an enemy — and an enemy only — despite Weiss being a couple corridors down and unable to see the current battlefield? I don't know. In another series I'd theorize that this was a deliberate hint, a way to clue us into the fact that Willow, someone who we currently know almost nothing about, had training in the past and summoned the boar herself. Weiss and Winter certainly didn't get that hereditary skill from Jacques. Hell, we might still get that, Weiss reacting with confusion next episode when Whitley thanks her for the boar, but I doubt it. That scene with Ruby and the Hound aside, the show isn't this good at laying groundwork and then following up on it.

Case in point: Weiss says, "I didn't forget you" to Whitley after he gets away from the Hound, the moment trying to harken back to her promise to Willow. Key word is "trying." Because she absolutely forgot him! Weiss threatened and ignored Whitley until he proved his usefulness. I also shouldn't need to point out that, "Don't forget your brother" does not mean, "Don't let your brother die a horrible death by abnormal grimm." Weiss acts like her saving him is a fulfillment of her promise, rather than just the most basic of human decency. And also, you know, her job.

So that part is frustrating. The entire Schnee dynamic is a mess, from Weiss making a joke of her father's arrest, to Willow (presumably) fixing their relationship by putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Okay.

Then Weiss cuts off the Hound by summoning a giant wall of ice. My brain, every time this happens:

YOU COULD HAVE FIXED THE HOLE IN MANTLE'S WALL.

Moving on, Blake's fight against the acid... thing has some great choreography, including Blake using her semblance which we haven't seen in AGES. 

I really like the fight itself, just not what Blake is shouting the whole time. "I need you, Ruby! We all need you!" This has really gotten ridiculous. Ruby is presented as everyone's sole savior despite failing time and time again. It's not that I don't think Blake as a character should have faith in her leader, it's that I don't think the writers should be crafting a story where everyone puts their unshakable hopes in an untrained, disloyal, impulsive 17 year old. I mean, Ruby is currently unconscious, yet Blake is acting like if she doesn't wake up — she, as an individual, if Ruby Rose does not re-join this fight — then all is lost. If Ruby doesn't save them, no one can. Which is, of course, absurd on numerous levels. Blake doesn't need the passed out, aura-less Ruby right now, she needs the still very healthy Weiss pulling out multiple summons and an ice wall! Use your scroll and call for backup again.

But of course, Ruby wakes up and kills the new, terrifying grimm with a single hit. It's a preview of what's to come with the Hound and it's just as ridiculous here as it will be there.

Speaking of the Hound, am I the only one who thought this was... cute?

I can't possibly be the only one. That head-tilt is exactly what my dogs do and my brain instinctively went, "Aww, puppy!"

Murderous puppy.

The Hound realizes none of the Schnees are who it's looking for and runs off. Penny, meanwhile, has been fully taken over because, well, that's just what's convenient now. She resists long enough keep Amity up, then succumbs, then resists to apologize to Ruby, then succumbs, then resists because Nora asked her to, then succumbs once it's time to knock her out. If RWBY was willing to commit to consequences, Penny would have been taken over and that was that. The characters would need to deal with whatever outcome happens as a result. Instead, the show very carefully avoids any of those pesky consequences by having Penny successfully resisting at key moments, despite no explanation of how she's managing that.

She shoves Klein again (Klein is having a Bad Time) and starts walking down the main steps. When Whitley wants to know where the hell she's going, Penny mechanically responds that she must "Open the vault, then self-destruct." I suppose the change Watts made was the self-destruct order? Ironwood obviously wants the vault open, though not necessarily Penny's death. Think what you will of his moral compass, she's a damn powerful ally — a research project, perhaps — and a Maiden to boot. At the very least, her death may give the powers to someone even worse.

God, please don't let them have brought Penny back and made her a Maiden just to kill her again.

The Hound arrives though and, as said, knocks Penny out. We're back to square one with her, then. Note though that this attack is near instantaneous. She grabs its hands one second, is hanging limply the next. Wow, the Hound sure is a terrifying antagonist!

Not for long.

"That's enough," Ruby says and one-shots it with her eyes.

Now, I want to talk for a moment about the implications of that line. "That's enough." Obviously Ruby is #done with this situation and emotionally unwilling to let the Hound kidnap Penny (congratulations, Nuts and Dolts shippers), but there's a meta reading here as well. Not intentional, but glaring to me nonetheless. Basically, the idea that the Hound has, from a plot perspective, done enough. It has served its singular purpose. It kidnapped Oscar and now it dies. Never-mind how insanely powerful we've established the Hound to be, never-mind how Ruby's eyes also work or don't work according to whether anything of actual import is on the line. From a plot perspective "that's enough" and the Hound can be disposed of instantly. It got Oscar and gave us an episode of filler creepiness. Move along now.

The idea behind Ruby's eyes isn't bad, but the execution absolutely is. RT has undermined a huge portion of the stakes by giving their protagonist an instant kill-shot that always works precisely when she needs it to. Starting with the Apathy, we have yet to get a moment where Ruby's eyes fail to save the day when she really needs them to, no matter how incredible the challenge. The Hound was very intentionally written to be a grimm outside of the group's current power level. It thinks, it talks, they literally can't touch it. This creates the expectation that the group will need to grow stronger — or at least become smarter — in order to surmount this new obstacle, yet Ruby's eyes undermine all of that. The group hasn't grown in years, the show just makes enemies weaker as needed (Ace Ops), or has Ruby pull out her eyes as a trump card. It wouldn't be that bad if we'd at least gotten a good battle out of it, one where the group gets close to defeating the Hound on their own, but needs Ruby's eyes to finish it off. Instead, she literally walks up without any aura, announces to the audience that this antagonist's time is up, and blasts it out a window.

Granted, Ruby's eyes don't completely finish it. The Hound pulls itself to its feet and we see this.

Yup, that's a guy and yup, those are silver eyes.

I would like to issue a formal apology to the "It's secretly Summer!" theorists in the fandom. I mean, I still think it would be ridiculous (and at this point highly improbable) that Ruby's dead mother has actually been a grimm mutant this whole time, just hanging out in Salem's realm while she waits for the plot to start before attacking the world, and then sends some no-name faunus dude after the group instead of their leader's mother for extra, emotional torture... but you all were definitely right about the “It's a person” part! I... don't know how I feel about this. Admittedly, it seems to be a logical continuation of the other grimm-human hybrids we've seen — namely Cinder and Salem herself — and it finally explains why Salem wants Ruby alive (even though it actually doesn't because WHY did she want more SEWs for Hound grimm when she wasn't even attacking back then? And already has all these other insanely powerful tools??), but at the same time, it feels like it's complicating a story that doesn't need further complications. The group fights monsters and has an immortal enemy. You don't need to add 'Some of those monsters are secretly human' to the mix.

It doesn't hurt that this twist is giving me Attack on Titan vibes, which, ew. A dark time in my fandom life, folks.

The Hound staggers a few steps before Whitley and Willow dump a suit of armor on it. That's all it takes to kill the most dangerous grimm we've ever seen: a single flash of silver eyes and some heavy metal. This also wreaks havoc with the implication that Salem wants SEWs alive because they create such powerful grimm. Obviously not. I mean yeah, normal huntsmen are going to have serious  problems, we’ve seen that this volume, but any other SEWs nearby will take a Hound out instantaneously. For a villain with so many other powerful abilities — immortality, magic, endless normal grimm, her nifty soup — Salem would be much better served just killing SEWs straight out. Clearly, creating Hounds isn't worth the effort.

The Hound leaves some bones behind and Ruby collapses to her knees, overcome with the knowledge that this was once a person. Again, uncomfortable Attack on Titan parallels.

We finish our premiere with Cinder clearing away rubble to reveal Watts. Honestly, I like that we ended on this because her rescue is hilarious. She just slings him over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes and blasts off with her magic fire feet. Fantastic.

Note though that with this scene we've seen almost everything from the clip and the trailer. What's to come in the rest of Volume 8? No idea. Outside of Winter leading the charge with the bomb, we got it all here.

Time to update the bingo board!

I'm crossing off "Introducing new grimm that are quickly abandoned." Between the Hound and acid-dude both falling to a single blast/cut from Ruby, we've more than earned this square.

It doesn't look as if we'll get another Watts-Jacques team-up now that he's left, but you never know.

Maria's got me worried. I feel like her Yoda fight against Neo is the one thing she'll be allowed to do this volume, but given that we didn't see anyone except Ruby's group this episode, we don't yet know whether the story is now ignoring her and Pietro, or if they'll re-appear in another episode like YJR.  

Qrow is free. Will he get a drink before trying to murder Ironwood? Perhaps.

Still no bingo :(

All in all, the episode was by no means horrible. I think there were lots of horrible parts, but also some legitimately well executed moments, fun action, and scenes that I can easily imagine as squee worthy if you lean back and squint. Everything is comparative and in the growing collection of bad RWBY episodes, this one isn't securing a top slot. Which doesn't mean I think it's good, just... not as bad as it could have been and primarily only bad due to long-running problems, not things this specific episode has done. That's my bar then, so low it has officially entered the underworld.

Still, RWBY is back and a part of me is eager to see where this volume takes us, for better or for worse.

Until next week! 💜

[Ko-Fi]

[terato-onlyfangs]

Two Wolves and The Scaredy Bat

Geralt x Reader x Regis

Warnings: Fluff, some swearing, the reader are anxious, but that won't last long. The reader shreds their clothes at one point.

Words: 2086

----

Toussaint was so different from Skellige, so this experience is vastly different. So colorful, the sun and sky only bared bright and clear skies. The lack of bloodshed was also highly noted and highly appreciated. A month after you fell in love with two interesting folks, it felt as if you knew them for your whole life with only a week. And now you've been with them for 3 weeks. Geralt and Regis were very open, yet they didn't pry into your life. You did say you were from Skellige, plus a few stories that wouldn't reveal your dark secret. So the lack of prying was rather nice.

Later tonight was set for a date, a calm one at that. Just to sit in the woods, sit near the fire, and chat our hearts off. It was quite reasonable since you're rather new yet so it was a nice way to get to know each other. Plus, you were rather fond of simple dates, and Geralt full-heartedly agreed to that. Regis didn't seem to mind, however. Seemingly more expandable, and honestly that was rather comforting. Forever in your heart will love nature, but it's time to put a paw into civilization.

Typically, you would visit the two even if it was date night. For once you chose to stay in the woods. Transforming into your beastly form, not to hunt or kill, but to lie in the grass. To scratch your back on trees once again and with less worry of a random attack. No one knew what you were, what you are. A nice transition and again very much needed. No more useless bloodshed. Though spending most of the day in the woods meant you needed to bathe and get dressed beforehand. So that you did. Even using some of the lotion that Regis had given you, that sure was going to make the Vampire happy. You wore something nice, but nothing too fancy. A simple white button-up shirt and new Hunter's pants graced your form.

You found the two at their humble vineyard garden. A beautiful sight alone when the sun is high, but remarkably gorgeous when the sun sets. A view that only made your old heart flutter at your new boyfriends that waved for you.

"Long time no see", Geralt joked. Seemingly in a good mood, probably from Regis. Which caused a chuckle, once he gave one hell of a bear hug. "Missed you too, big guy."

Once Geralt put you down, Regis gave a much sweeter and a gentle hug, nevertheless still very welcoming. "It's great to see you again!", Regis greeted addictively warmly. "Hmm, I sense you used the lotion that I gave you."

"I have and am." You smiled, enjoying the hugs. Only to frown once Emiel pulled away. A soft laugh came from the vampire, though grabbing Geralt's than my own hand. Happily, we were guided into the woods. Enjoying a quiet walk with each other was rather nice. Soon setting up near where I was earlier that day. Oddly Regis seemed tense, though, did not mention why. Perhaps wanting to keep the date afloat. Quickly the night came, luckily we had everything set. Even though we didn't need the sun's light, but the two didn't know I didn't need it. Hence the fire, besides keeping Geralt and I warm. Geralt took out the drinks, alcohol, and passed everyone some since he was in the middle. The moon was simply a slit, no full moon thankfully. Much harder to control your transformation in the full moon. Though the sky was beautiful, much clearer than what you've usually seen.

"I've never seen the sky this beautiful before.", completely awestruck by the scene your boyfriends only smiled. Used to the starry sky by seeing it many times over.

"It is a nice night, if I may say so."

Geralt agreed, "It is nice. The skies are usually cloudy in Skellige. So I'm sure this is new to you.", The Witcher smiled at you. It warmed your heart that he knew quite a bit on Skellige. So you nod and smiled back. "It is, even on cloudless nights, it's never been this beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you, my dear."

"You sly bastard. Thank you though"

Geralt snorted at your soft remark midway gulping down some booze. Almost choking, quickly recovering thankfully. Regis only shook his head, holding a smile as he sipped his drink.

"Not a problem. And Geralt, you too look very beautiful as well. Even chocking on alcohol. ", Regis jested though amused by Geralt's earlier snorting.

"Oh, hush", Geralt smirked before placing a quick kiss on his lips before giving you the same treatment. But the moment was interrupted by a twig being snapped suddenly, caused by an animal. Most likely a deer. But Regis' smooth demeanor changed by one of panic in a heartbeat.

"Werewolf!", Regis yelled, panic charged through him after hearing that snap. The scent of werewolf breezed through, which was created by you, was faint but it scared Regis so. But Geralt cruelly laughed, he knew they were safe here, otherwise, he wouldn't have laughed. And he hadn't seen Regis jump over, a werewolf for many, many years. No matter how hard he tried to scare Regis by thinking he was a werewolf which never worked. Especially when scents are remembered, Geralt's scent is something Emiel could never ever forget. For if he did, either he went insane or finally dead. However, through the panicking and Geralt snorting now, you grew rather nervous.

"Regis? A werewolf? Don't be silly.", now the fear of being no longer accepted haunts you, most likely mistaken for a fear of a werewolf as well. Regis took a deep breath through his nose, realizing his claws from his satchel strap. "Sorry, it was rather silly. My nerves flared up after catching an old scent. And I'm deathly afraid of werewolves."

"A vampire that's afraid of werewolves? Never heard of that before." Geralt jests but comforts Regis by wrapping an arm to his side. "We'll be fine. I promise I'll look around, here again, tomorrow. It is odd to see, or smell a werewolf in Toussaint."

Regis nodded, "It is and I'm not willing to see it.", singling the date was over once he left in a hurry. You and Geralt joined once the fire was put out. Though far behind now.

"Geralt, do you think all werewolves are bad?"

"Not all, I managed to help release curses from all that I can. That and they are difficult opponents to fight."

You only gave a nod. But gave a smile when he gave you a curious look, "I should go home before a big bad wolf gets me. And I'm sure Regis needs comfort."

Geralt didn't laugh at your wolf joke. It was concerning to him. Worried that the date went bad or you're scared of werewolves like Regis or even feeling left out somehow. "You sure you don't want to join us at my place? You can stay since your home is quite far away."

"I'm sure Geralt. Thank you for offering though.", you have his cheek a kiss before running off before he could protest or offer to take you home. No doubt Geralt has good intent, a real sweetheart even. But Regis's fear made you incredibly nervous. Distant and pained even. Can't blame his fear, however, werewolves are terrifying even to other werewolves. Most can't control themselves and even learning that control takes many, many years to perfect. Seemingly it's easier for non-cursed werewolves, ones that have been birthed through a werewolf parent. Which are almost rare on its own. Vincent, you believed was birthed, but words would always change a bit after being passed, and well Vincent was rather a popular talk amongst other werewolves. However, that's what you are, a birthed and non-curable werewolf. Something Regis no doubly feared. You sighed at your thoughts as you travel back into your house. Rather easy, to see in the dark, even when the moon has been just a slit. For some reason and you knew that your senses are sharper as a human yet not as sharp when you're in your beastly form. You thought it was odd, but yet you're from a long line of natural werewolves so maybe it's normal.

After a while, thoughts collecting, swirling, and twirling with anxiety and thoughts of your kind. Busying yourself, you reached your home. Actually tripping in your own yard. You stayed on the ground sighing, soon sitting up. Looking up. It was still a beautiful night. You suppose that the darkest time is yet to come, on the day of tomorrow. Better grab some rest, then, as you went back into your cabin.

New day, a restart in fresh air and light. Shame that marks of fear drowns the grace of nature. You travel to your boyfriend's house, greeted by Geralt. The Witcher was in his gear, most likely ready to look for that werewolf that made that stale scent.

"Hey (Y/N), sorry I'm not going to be able to talk for long. Regis is in the lab."

"Would it be okay if I joined you?"

"No, it's too dangerous for you."

"Please?"

"No, it's too much of a risk for you."

"Geralt please-", you sighed, "At least let me show you something at least." Grabbing his hand and dragging him to the woods before he could protest, you two were finally alone. Geralt huffed but stood with his arms crossed. "What did you want to show me?"

"Geralt.. I'm the werewolf."

"Really?"

"I was the werewolf that caused that scent. I can show you.", with that you walked away, giving yourself room for the transformation. Quickly, your monstrous form took shape. Geralt for once feared if you'd attack only because you looked much stronger than normal werewolves. Not only that, but you were rather huge, unbeknownst to him that you're rather older than he thought. Your fur was beautiful obsidian black, sleek and lustrous. Your eyes haven't changed, no pure instinct clouding your beautiful, calculated orbs. "I won't... attack." Or rasped hoarsely.

Geralt relaxed, releasing the grip of his silver sword. "You're a child of a werewolf, aren't you?." Simply you gave a nod, speaking was rather difficult in this form. You whine, scared even when you rest your head against Geralt.

"Are you in pain?", Geralt worried, yet petting your smooth fur. "No... What will.. Reegis thinhk.", words slurred but still able to be processed.

"I think no matter what, he'd love you still."

If you could smile you would. Tears would threaten to spill if you were in your human form. Rather hard to express some emotions in this form so you took it through a rather gentle hug. "Thannks. Geralt."

You moved away from Geralt, shocked to see Regis frozen, mouth agape. You were shocked, but not as shocked as he was, most likely hearing. No seeing everything, most likely wanting to tell his Witcher to be safe.

"Regis..."

"Is it truly you, (Y/N)? A werewolf?"

You nod, nervous, swallowing thickly. Geralt waved Regis over, and the vampire came. "I still love her, Regis."

Regis gave a nod, carefully gliding his hands to the sides of your head. "As do I. Never thought you were a werewolf. I'm sorry about my anxieties. I had a very bad experience with a werewolf when I was just a lad. However, it's not your fault." You shift, changing back to your human form. Instantly you grabbed Regis in a tight hug, those tears you were holding back came out. Geralt soon joins the hug pile, pick the both of you up slightly. "I love you two so much.. Sorry for not telling you both sooner."

"It's fine, we forgive you." Regis soon agrees, "That we do." With that, Geralt returns everyone back down on the ground. Soon noticing the tattered clothes on your frame. Barely hanging onto your body. "Oh my, I'm sure we can lend you some of our clothes", Regis kept his eyes on your face. "That would be appreciated.", you chuckled nervously.

You two quickly returned to the vineyard home. Stealing some of Geralt's clothes. Returning to the boys, only to be thrown on the bed for some cuddles. Your worry and anxiety are all gone as both of their arms wrapped around you. Peppered with nothing but love.

"I love you guys."

"Love you too."

"I love you as well."

----

[venus-says]

Healin' Good Precure Episode 02

What makes a good partner.

Second week of Healin' Good and we were blessed with another great episode making my enjoyment and excitement for this show grow even bigger!

I feel like I won't have a lot to say here, but it's not because I didn't enjoy the episode but because this episode was more or less just to set up the things and wrap up properly the events from last week, so aside of Rabbirin and Nodoka's conflict there wasn't a whole lot happening.

I like that we got lore because it was a thing I feel like we missed from the first episode, but I think having it happen here really fits well with the episode somehow. I also like how they kept everything really simple and didn't get into much detail because it didn't make the exposition part feel too long. Though I wish we had more info on the Healing Garden and just what the Healing Animals really are and what exactly do they do because everything still feels a little vague, but I believe it must be like that because the team hasn't been assembled yet so I won't be too picky about this.

I had a problem with Daruizen last time and I still feel that way about it because even though we've seen the Byougens' lair and we got to meet the other generals and kinda their boss, I still don't think it was enough. Like, we've seen each one's "quirk" but we really don't know anything about these characters other than they're trying to create an environment where they can live so, I'm still not feeling these villains.

But let's talk about something that is great? NODOKA!

Nodoka is so precious, seeing her in her first day at school was really endearing, her interactions with Hinata and Chiyu in the classroom were great, seeing her try so many sporty clubs and failing at each one of them was really funny, and seeing she being all positive about regardless of everything just showed how sweet she is.

And I gotta say, I thought I would hate this thing of Rabbirin wanting to break up her partnership with Nodoka just because she's not athletic but it surprised me that they found a way to kinda back up her argument and it made me enjoy that they had this argument. Yes, I still think her idealization of who her partner should be is very dumb and somewhat annoying and you can't deny that it was also a factor that helper her want to break up, but it also makes sense that she's worried about Nodoka and that she's afraid she won't be strong enough to help Grace which can lead on Nodoka getting seriously injured. It was a great way how they put it.

Though the real thing that made this episode shine was the scene of the reconciliation.

We begin that with a great comedy scene where Nodoka tries to transform with Nyatoran but it obviously doesn't work and they end up bumping heads and it's so funny, I loved it. Then Nodoka suits up with a lot of equipment from the clubs she participated in earlier and she even got a pretty decent plan of action and managed to execute it to a certain extent so it was great and it helped to build-up for the moment of the reconciliation.

And then we have a very touching back and forth between Nodoka and Rabbirin that was the thing that crowned the greatness of this episode to me. Seeing Nodoka open up about her period while she was in the hospital and pouring out her motivation for wanting to help people and to be a precure was very touching, very emotional, and it was very strong. And props to Aoi Yuuki for being an awesome voice actress for delivering such a great performance that completely sells the moment and, at least to me, it enhances the experience and the emotional response for everything.

That moment was so great, it's kinda sad that the fight portion that came after it was so... lackluster. Like, I get that the important thing of this episode was more Nodoka and Rabbirin's figuring out their partnership but I do think we should have a great fighting scene to show how the fact they were more aligned and how beneficial that is for their mission and for their "job" as precure. It doesn't drag this episode for me, but it left me wanting more.

Next week we'll get Chiyu's introduction as Cure Fontaine and I'm really excited, we got to see more of her in this episode where she shared a very sweet moment with Nodoka and I'm ready to see more, I love how they already planted the seed in this episode when the fairies are watching the club activities and Pegitan says he thinks Chiyu is cool, that was so adorable I can't wait to see their interactions are going to happen. But anyway, that's stuff for next week, for now, let me know what are your thoughts on the comments, I'll talk to you folks later. Healin' goodbye~

[odysseywritings]

Haven and Lomana Lost in Forbidden Woods

(Big warning for graphic violence)

If the moon should arise

On the festival’s blue night

The final trace of man cries

And a dragon’s soul takes flight

Haven and Lomana saw the horizon dimming, the orange sky giving way to blue and the trees becoming shadows of their former selves. They had gotten the material quickly enough, a unique species of mushroom that glowed red, and it proved a useful if limited torch. The blue light from Haven’s hand had a stronger glow, and he led Lomana as she held out the mushroom. This mixture of two lights helped their navigation in the brown and gray trail that they started from. 

Their normal banter shrank as their vision lowered, and their base instincts of cautious survival took precedence. Sounds from various otherworldly beasts encircled the duo, from incessant chitters of terrestrial insects to droning bleats of overhead avians. Haven’s senses were a double-edged sword, hearing everything from the low bellows to the screeching caws. Lomana kept a steady distance and watched his bling spots. 

“Hey, Haven,” Lomana whispered.

“Yeah?” He forced his shaky voice to.endure.

“I know it’s not a lot of energy, but your body is going to react from this. Let me go ahead a bit while you conserve energy.”

“With that mushroom? But it won’t give enough light,” he protested.  “I’m not risking our lives over that. Please trust me,” He firmly pleaded.

She sighed, knowing Haven’s stubborn temperament. Still, she was preparing her own defense in case something should happen to him. 

The bleats continued as the black sky grew, its presence magnified by the forest’s immense shade. Chirping sounds were ringing in Haven’s ears, causing him to grind his teeth so his mind could focus. Sharp, high noises drilled into his mind in every area relentlessly, with the blue light hovering above his now scaly hand warping into a spiral shape.

Lomana was curt. “Haven, you’re wrecking yourself! At least recharge for a second.”

Haven was breathing heavily and he was growing delirious from constant head turns. 

“All right,” he admitted. “Just for a bit?”

“Yes.”

To the point. And that honesty relaxed him as he let her go in front. Not a second to spare as his skin was returning to its human texture. Folk superstitions about moon-cycle transformations didn’t get to him, but experiences of discoloration and unfettered rage did. He had come close to being a ‘dragon’ in his angrier moments. He had to control his power for now or else his proven curse might endanger Lomana. 

He had no question of Lomana’s competence, but his guilt would drown him if his imagined weakness threatened her life. His anxiety lowered when he saw one of her violet spider-serpents crawl on her shoulder. While not from this realm, an animal still has reasonable senses of danger. Anger was simmering, but he kept a small dose of blue energy out whenever dry sounds from overhead burrowed in his brain. 

They felt crawling sensations on their arms and necks, swatting away what they thought were insects. They checked their hands with each smack, only seeing faint traces of black liquid with no bug bodies anywhere. Haven’s arm kept tingling with each second of the unseen invaders, his hair giving so many signals that it made him frantic. Lomana badgered him to stay calm despite her own insect issue, scratching her skin from the parasites. Haven tried to tell her something as his head shifted up, but saw something in the sky.

A glowing white figure with a human appearance looked down at them, its feet perfectly supplanted in the air as though it was earth. Adorned in centuries-old military gear and wielding a sword, its icy blue eyes stared at Haven’s own rich blue ones. 

“L-Lomana,” he faltered, trying to comprehend this sight. “Look up and tell me you see anything.”

She raised a brow at his request, but she listened and saw the specter. Lomana’s spider-serpent lunged up with immense speed. All too quickly, the ghost’s sword cut it apart, its violet particles transferring back to her as she reeled back. Haven shot out blue bursts of energy at the specter to cover Lomana, but it evaded every shot from its aloof distance. The fallen general opened its bearded maw and croaked in a dead language.

Decayed hands popped from the earth and trapped the two. Physical strength could not budge them alone as they wriggled fruitlessly. Lomana focused on freeing herself with her void creature while Haven shot at the hands. But more would come up to replace them. They could feel their bodies sinking into the earth. All while the specter stared coldly, its head lifted up to chuckle as flies exited its mouth.

The combined dread of being buried alive and seeing his best friend succumbing to the same fate shot through him. He kept shooting at the specter with a free hand as another gripped Lomana’s. His eyesight blurred by the turbulence. The sounds of her hurt grunts railed on. Until everything froze and his sight changed.

The blurriness remained but turned monochrome and widened. His body felt sluggish yet unfettered. All he saw was the specter and rage fed his heart. With startling ease he crawled out of the earth, unaware of the shrunken hands and trees. The corpse hands flailed away from weakness. The rest were torn off without effort. He could not shoot energy out of his hands somehow. But as he yelled, the blue light came out from his throat. The fiery blast shot out too quickly for the specter to evade. Its body set alight in blue flame as it tried to sputter. Its ghostly situation was not a question Haven thought of.

His primal side taken over, he ran to the foe and lunged after it. Trees proved no real coverage as his massive dark clawed hands ripped through them as they fell. But it was too high up to get close. The specter being on the defensive only made it his prey. He latched onto a thick, ancient tree and climbed up with lizard-like clutches. He leaped from tree to tree to confuse the spectre, hearing only sounds of a monster. 

The Haven-dragon pounced at the specter from behind. His new visage of wolf and crocodilian traits and glowing yellow eyes pierced into the specter. It lunged its sword out to slay the beast, but any pain Haven felt was ignored. He grabbed the fleeing specter by its sword and dragged it down. Any conscience Haven had was greatly hidden. 

His fists and saurian maw broke the specter’s insides and limbs. Its wretched cries a far cry from the contempt it used to show. Haven paused briefly and calmed his breathing, only enough to ready his massive clawed hand. Yet before he could strike, the specter vanished into black dust that swirled in the sky. But at last the threat was gone, and he made an echoing roar aimed at the sky above him.

The Haven-dragon still felt a sense of dread he could not understand. He scratched and bit the trees as he tried to find solace. The bouts of aggression subsided as he saw a familiar face looking at him. A human’s widened eyes and clutched chest made him stop. Yet he did not see a specific face. Moments left as he curiously walked toward her. His eyes stopped glowing and also widened in their own reptilian way. He finally knew in the sapient part of his changed mind that Lomana was alive.