#storm ronin

[doolallymagpie]

A funky gal and her bird, and a big burly sword boy

[chernobog13]

Information pages on Fuun Lion-Maru and his supporting cast.

[gotham-at-nightfall]

Marvel Month 2023

By Alejandro Hernandez

[humberg]

'Gonna be an ambush, no doubt. Just focus - you're better than them.'

[evilhorse]

Hurry, my comrades! Storm the tower!

(Usagi Yojimbo #17)

[yeonban]

Every time I remember just how batshit Inazuma must seem to non-inazumans I start wheezing

[pastel-player]

Round 1 Results

ALRIGHT IT’S TIME

A few of these results really surprised me! Others did not in the slightest. But either way, it is time to reveal the losers of Round 1!

MATCH 1: Scarlet Amin is Eliminated!

Scarlet Amin a wealthy and charismatic business woman, known for her energetic personality and love of mystery! She revels in filling her home with secret passageways and hidden compartments. She is the girlboss to her husband’s malewife. Speaking of which...

MATCH 2: Ronin Amin is Eliminated!

(Art by https://twitter.com/_Cinnaart_?t=06fAdEVxEb7Fo7Rb5ulueg&s=09)

Ronin is, simply put, sopping wet. He’s much more shy and timid compared to his wife, and tends to handle the paperwork of the business. Yes, I have a favorite, what about it? He’s quite gentle and is known for his caring demeanor. He and his wife also own the mansion a certain OC story of mine takes place in ;D

MATCH 3: Burst is Eliminated!

Art by @samthecookielord​

Burst is a Paper Mario OC, inspired by Origami King! Basically I decided that Bobby deserved a boyfriend. Burst is highly energetic, always jumping to new opportunities! He is acutely aware of his mortality and strives to do as much as he possibly can in the time he has. Love this little guy. Funnily enough, speaking of Paper Mario...

MATCH 4: Twiss T. is Eliminated!

(It’s Sam again)

Twiss T. is another Paper Mario OC, based on the older games this time! He’s meant to be an antagonist- not outright evil, but he definitely doesn’t prioritize his morality. He’s a theatre kid through and through- though he’s dying to play a villain. He is so so willing to be manipulative, love that for him. His only loyalties are to the stage and to his pride <3

ROUND 5: Nightlight is Eliminated!

(It’s Sam. Again.)

Nightlight is the mother of one of my more well known OCs- Nightcap! She works at a library reading out stories, as well as writing kids books in her spare time! She’s very kind and gentle, though she very much has a sense of humor. This woman would have a Tumblr account.

ROUND 6: Misery Wizary is Eliminated!

(Take a guess.)

Misery Wizary is my necromancer save from West of Loathing! She started with a somewhat warped sense of morality- having far too much confidence in herself as a good person, and far too quick to assume the worst of others. This lead to her learning necromancy, through the idea that the person most skilled in it should at least be a good person. She ended up hiding away after an Epiphany TM followed by The Guilt. And then she was pulled out by a strange little child name Romy who is now her son. Love this woman.

ROUND 7: Storm is Eliminated!

(Take. A. Guess.)

This one sorta devastated me ngl. Storm is a teenager with arguably the most complicated origin of any of my OCs! What’s important is that they’re part of (in at least one timeline) the Omori Deltarune AU! They’re one of Halkinna’s best friends- they can come off as edgy, but they have soo much love in they heart. They also enjoy writing angst.

ROUND 8: Arthur Morris is Eliminated!

(picrews are: https://picrew.me/image_maker/1706331 and https://picrew.me/image_maker/1414503)

Arthur Morris is one of my Shadows Over Loathing OCs- specifically my Cheese Wizard save! He’s very intelligent and rather soft spoken. He loves learning about various forms of magic, as well as their history. He also had an.. interesting dynamic with Noel, since he just simply could not match her energy. Oh yeah he also a crush on Charles, love to see it. He’s actually part of a duo- wonder if the other is somewhere around here ;D

That’s the end of part one cause this got very long lol, part two of the results should be soon

[ocd-kenobi]

I haven't been around much, but thought I'd drop a quick couple Star Wars book reviews.

The Approaching Storm by Alan Dean Foster: Wow, yet another Star Wars book that I can barely get through because of the pervasive sexism, yay. Five points for the scene of Anakin watching Obi-Wan stretch and thinking about how repressed his master is. Negative eighty points for having female main characters only so you can have them be sexually harassed and get in trouble for liking pretty things and get rescued by men. If you care a lot about clone wars/pre-clone wars politics, but don't like things that are too complicated, then you might enjoy it.

Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon: An actually great read! I don't want to give too much away, but the fact that it kept me on the edge of my seat might be recommendation enough. If you like complex redemption arcs, if you like the kind of thing where Vader gets to be a dad, if you like non-binary major characters, if you like re-centering the Star Wars mythos back on the Japanese culture it was stolen from, then I recommend it!

[312lara]

Episode 5- The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride

I need to analyze those scenes as a juxtaposition to each other because the symbolism is amazing.

"A storm is in his soul."

Akemi ended the last ep by saying that Mizu was just angry, and this ep shows how anger is one of the most destructive emotions one can have. 

I wouldn't be going into every scene, just the ones with Mizu that I find interesting.

As Mizu gasps in pain in a quiet place before being attacked and winning (doing something she is very good at swordfigting) this scene is placed with her trying to be a "good" wife and failing. Being clumsy, scaring Kai, not being able to cook, etc. 

Then Mikio and her have their first good conversation. About Kai, this "perfect creature."

Their relationship seems good, almost, not romantic but good.

Mikio asks her if she can ride, then we go back to the present and see

Mikio initiates a date and she seems to relate this experience of starting to be open with a violent action.

"Although sometimes if he stopped to listen the ronin would still hear it calling his name."

The next scene is Mizu's 'mom' going out to get drugs, something that the white men brought into the country, and another way her life was ruined. 

Mizu is knocked out, she is unconscious. She is at her most vulnerable and what does she associate that with? 

Sleeping with her husband. 

For her, that seems to be the same. Being at her most vulnerable.

which makes what happens next so very sad. 

"You are a monster." 

Mikio said to Mizu, ending their relationship and any hope of something more. 

Mikio sells Kai, also symbolizing selling her. 

Kai was the reason their relationship even got to that point. Kai also represents water like Mizu, another way Kai represents Mizu

So Mizu gets dressed like a bride, putting on the makeup and the clothes all while she is actively being crushed. 

and well if there was one good thing Mikio did was remind her that a naginata is great against an army, which she remembers well. 

Also, Mizu's version of a naginata is the coolest thing I've ever seen 

I think this was the moment she let go of friendship, love, and weakness. like she tells Ringo. 

This ep was truly one of the best pieces of media I’ve ever seen. Mizu exploration of vulnerability, and how it makes her feel like she’s dying. The symbolism that plays off that. Literally and figuratively, emotionally and physically.

I wonder how much she thinks about this? does it happen every day because this really does seem like something she thinks about a lot

[verysium]

would a beautiful young lady like you be so generous and besprinkle me with some sae itoshi thoughts

beautiful young lady? 🤭 anon you are so sweet. and for that, i present to you a writing idea that has lingered in the back of my mind for a while now. introducing......✨rōnin sae✨

he was originally the first-born son of a wealthy samurai clan but was ostracized due to his left-handed fighting style and refusal to conform to bushido. the night of his thirteenth birthday, he wrongfully murdered a man, and for that he was exiled by his family and later banished from the estate. forced to leave everything behind, he traveled on foot to kyoto to enter into the service of the daimyō at yodo domain, but no master or dojo would accept him.

after three years, he became a wanderer, a ghost identified by nothing except the incorporeal lingering of fear he left behind. no one has ever seen his face, nor do they know his name. a pair sharp teal eyes is the last thing the unfortunate souls see before they meet their end at the tip of his blade. he slices so clean it leaves no blood, only a soft body caught between the furrows of earth, lodged into eternal sleep beneath the snow.

working part-time as a serving girl between a soba shop and a brothel, you encounter him on one of the longest days of winter, the sole customer who dares to enter between the hours of midnight and dawn. as you set down his bowl, your eyes catch onto the silk tie fastened to the hilt of his katana, a rich hue of burgundy red. he must be a member of the upper nobility, you think. you've only ever seen the color on the obi of the wealthy patrons and the entrancing eyes of the madam's geisha. you politely ask him where he bought such beautifully dyed fabric, setting down his chopsticks with a sweet smile. he stares up at you from beneath his jingasa hat, so low on his face that you cannot see his eyes. a beat of silence passes, then two.

it is blood.

his tone is quiet, deep enough to send shivers down your spine. he waits to see the horrified look on your face, the crumpling of your delicate features so that he knows when to leave, where he is not welcome. but it never comes. instead you beam, blabbering on about how you figured he was a ronin with the number of bodies he left behind, and the number of days he says he's been here. he remains silent, though you see a flicker of something beneath the brim of his hat, the color so bright you do not know if it is blue or green.

you realize who he is. and you don't care.

that is enough to get sae interested in you, at least interested enough not to kill you. most people never hear the rumors let alone fathom his existence, yet you let him stay here with you, as if you expected his presence all along. at first, he coughs and refuses, standing up swiftly to find the exit. but when he lifts the noren and is hit with a face full of harsh snow, he begins to reconsider your offer, to wait until the storm passes.

you boil tea on the kettle as you lay out a spare futon on the tatami, lighting a candle in the darkness. in the corner, he sees a small misshapen bundle beneath the blankets, and he immediately pulls his hand back when two glossy eyes peer back up at him. the bundle he realizes is your mother, and the blankets he learns is a deathbed. you have no other kin left, no money to feed yourself, nowhere to hide the rotting body. only in time will he fully understand the ghosts of your past. you are the daughter of a prostitute; he is a son in exile. it shouldn't even be considered a match, but it strangely feels like one.

the storm passes, but sae doesn't leave. instead, you and he settle into the mundane expanse of cold routine, him searching for hire by day and you working by night. except one night, you do not return home by the tenth hour bell. it isn't until the sun carves a sliver into the morning sky that he sees your silhouette in the doorway, kimono slightly rumpled. you pull the ornaments out of your hair, makeup smeared as you run frantically into your room, slumping before your wash basin.

it doesn't take much from him to pry out an entire story from your lips. apparently your friend himeko has disappeared, the last you've seen of her was her entanglement with a young nobleman who promised to buy her out of the brothel. you sigh, lamenting that you are not attractive enough to be wed, much less make your way up the ranks of the maiko. sae wants to say you are foolish for believing a man's lies, but he holds his tongue when he sees your expression, the delicate features of your face crumbling, the same way he expected them to the night you met. it is the first time he sees you cry, and he cannot even hold you. he does not know why this hurts so much.

it's too late by the time he realizes.

you've buried yourself into him. stomped your muddy footprints all over his heart. left evidence in the snow. successfully haunted him in every single iteration. now he tells you that he would wed you in a single heartbeat. any sign of discomfort and he would not hesitate to kill. his only regret is that he wished he could give you more than this life of an untethered ghost, more substance than this lack of being. but your lips quell the storm that resides in his heart, his rotting fingers trembling as they find a home on the side of your cheeks. if he were to die, he would be content to be buried inside you, his stone cold body resting within the peace of your existence.

it is the hour between midnight and dawn when sae realizes the snow outside has stopped and that his life has only just begun.

[doolallymagpie]

Feel like I’ve hit some kind of accidental symbolism with the Storm Ronin being a Dark Angels Successor who:

have a bright and kind of flamboyant color scheme (coral pink and gold)

don’t see themselves as “Unforgiven”

[ninjagoshippingtourney]

Beginning of the tournament

Hello hello!! My name is Casey, your host on the ninjago shipping tournament!! Here, we'll find out through a series of votes which is the best ninjago ship!! We will have three tiers, the main tier (including all ships listed), the rare pair tier (includes all rare pairs) and the popular tier (includes all mainstream/popular ships) If I missed any ships in the list below that you'd like included, let me know! If you're ship isn't added in the final cut, please do not be frustrated. Here's our list of entries so far: Jaya (Jay x Nya) Pixane (Pixal x Zane) Lava (Kai x Cole Plasma (Jay x Kai) Tecno (Jay x Zane) Bruise (Jay x Cole) Opposite/peppermint (Kai x Zane) Glacier (Zane x Cole) Polyninja (Kai x Jay x Cole x Zane) Samurai (Nya x Pixal) Conia (Cole x Vania) Coleil (Cole x Seleil) Conya (Cole x Nya) Mudshock (Jay x Cole x Nya) Sunset (Vania x Skylar) Kailor (Kai x Skylar) Amber Pheonix (Nya x Skylar) Greenflower (Lloyd x Brad) Holly (Lloyd x Akita) Frosted flower (Lloyd x Akita x Brad) Think fast (Neuro x Griffin) Copycat/Mirror (Chamile x Skylar) Wusako (wu x Misako) Garmasako (Garmadon x Misako) destructive dragon (Series!Garmadon x Movie!koko) Hot wire (Kai x Pixal) Blue wire (Jay x Pixal) Braincell (Nya x Zane) Entombed (Pythor x Aspeheera) Ground wire (Cole x Pixal) Raincloud (Benthomaar x Vania) Techspin (Sora x Arin) Transformer (Ash x Chamile) Trident (Benthomaar x Nya) Eyepatch (Ronin x Clutch Powers) Garmaclouse (Garmadon x Clouse) Geode (Cole x Geo) Gemstone (Plundar x Cole) Scruff (Dareth x Ronin) Thunderwave (Jay x Benthomaar) Music Jade (Sally x Harumi) Nightshade (Tox x Chamile) Stolen data (Pixal x Skylar) Wind power (Sora x Euphrasia) Conductor (Jay x Kai x Zane) Cyber storm (Pixal x Jay x Nya) Dumbass (Jay x Kai x Cole) Heavy metal (Cole x Pixal x Zane) Ponytail (Skylar x Nya x Pixal)

[tribdinosaur]

Princess Peach Showtime 👑, Dragon’s Dogma 2 🏹, and Rise of the Ronin ⚔️

released on the same day (March 22),

for the ultimate night out storming a fortress / castle with the gals.

(the games were also the Top 3 games in Japan for that week)

[thaliajoy-blog]

Blue Eye Samurai characters and the four elements - some thoughts I've had since there are four core character in the story.

Ringo seems like Earth - he's sturdy, solid, as much physically (despite his disability) as mentally. He is very much grounded in his beliefs and rather is the one who changes others, like Mizu. He is the character in the story whose character & goals don't change immensely, he remains steady - he wants to be great and useful, and despite differences with Mizu he near constantly stands by her and goes back to her. Also he's a cook & a healer , giving him a nurturing aspect.

Taigen : That's were it gets interesting ! Taigen at first seems like fire. Relative to Mizu he's presented as a violent bully, vicious & destructive, and later a proud man, quick to anger and single-minded. But we do see that he has evolved positive qualities too ; he has a sweet relationship with Akemi & truly cares about her. He develops respect for Mizu. Which to me means he's swapped element ; how he complements Akemi matters in this. But his own desire to cut his way "out of the net" of his poor upbringing and seemingly predetermined future makes him close to the element of air, as in like Akemi, he seeks a form of freedom. Him embracing the kind of lif were Akemi & him run away from her family & his duties/honor together, confirms it to me.

Akemi : originally the one I'd associate to air. She's the most constrained out of the three protagonists,and the one yearning the most for freedom. She's associated directly to a bird in a cage, which she sets free and emulates when he flies away. But like Taigen, she shifts ; they actually swap, as Taigen renounces ambition while she embraces it in from of a burning bulding. What element better associated to power than fire, after all ? She literally is compared to a sun goddess in the series (and that is related to her sexuality and the way she wields it to take control).

Mizu : this seems like the most forward given her name, since it means water ; and to first explore that there are some two similar quotes from both Blue Eye Samurai & Memoirs of a Geisha that convey the vibe pretty well : "being on your own, you could be like water. Impossible to catch" (The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride) // "[My mother] she told me I was like water. Water can carve its way even through stone, and when trapped, water makes a new path..." (Memoirs of a Geisha). Especially that bit about being trapped & carving your way out of that situation. Mizu really feels like she's capable of anything with her blade. She can be anything, like water can take any shape ; like water Can find its way anywere, so does she. They are both flexible, obstinate and resilient. But then, there is the burning in Mizu's heart. How Mizu's inner conflict and désire for revenge is likened both to her most naturel element (a storm in the soul, a typhoon, a breaze at sea swallowed by darkness...) And to fire (the fire in you rages beyond control). She is water but she is raised in a forge, she knows fire & how to use it intimately ; her relationship to fire is not just negative and destructive, there is actually a meaningful aspect of creation & art through fire in her story (the 2d and 7th episode show that well) but of course, she is the reason why the city of Edo burns at the end. She is mixed, made of two clashing elements that rage in her, like her japanese side clashes with her white side.

[so-sures-blog]

Energybound

binding energy definition: in physics and chemistry, binding energy is the smallest amount of energy required to remove a particle from a system of particles or to disassemble a system of particles into individual parts.

In which Lloyd becomes Energy to save the world. As the Green Savior, he was always prophesied to die for it. The scrolls never mentioned anything about his friends.

💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨

The sun is just peaking over the horizon of the ocean when Lloyd makes his choice.

A restless night had passed, with the city drowning and Kalmaar sweeping through flooding to find the Ninja. With Jay’s condition worsening and Nya not leaving his side. With Benthomaar wracked with guilt over what his adopted brother had done and Kai, Cole, Zane, and P.I.X.A.L anxious to do something. 

Lloyd had eavesdropped on Nya and Bentho talking about the Nyad, how she had merged with the sea and defeated Wojira. He knows what she is about to do. 

He’s just doing it first. 

Lloyd cracks open his eye from where he is pretending to be asleep, and slowly stands up. All of his friends are passed out from the emotional toll of the day— even Nya, who was fitfully sleeping besides Jay. 

He moves quietly to not alert any of his friends and wake them up. Silently, he makes his way to the door, before looking back at his friends one last time. Jay was laying on the couch, gasping and wheezing in raspy intervals. Nya is next to him, shifting uncomfortably. 

Bentho leans up against a filing cabinet next to the couch, arms crossed and head hanging. He was separated from the rest of his friends, and Lloyd wishes to see the day where Bentho is comfortable enough to lay next to them instead of dealing with everything himself. 

Kai, Cole, Zane, P.I.X.A.L, and Master Wu are all passed out on the other side of the room, unconscious to the world and the thoughts swirling around Lloyd’s head. 

Lloyd wishes they had more time. A few spare months of recuperating and relaxation isn’t enough between the life-threatening missions his team frequently goes on. He wants to stay with his friends.

He bites his tongue, the pain distracting him from his thoughts as he opens the door and then closes it, making his way to the roof.

💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨

Lloyd dangled his feet off the edge of the dock, eyes trained on the gleaming horizon. An unsettled feeling was shifting in his gut, and a single question rolled around in his mind. 

Footsteps sounded towards him, and Lloyd turned to see his mother and uncle walking towards him.

“Lloyd, are you okay?” Misako asked. 

Lloyd stood up, not taking his gaze away from the sinking sun. “I was just thinking… I know Ronin’s monster was a fake, but I guess I was wondering if Wojira is really still out there… somewhere.” 

“If she is, may she sleep for another thousand years.” Wu prayed.

And at the bottom of the sea, the storm slept.

💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨

Lloyd walks towards the edge of the building, peering down at the dark water. It is black and bottomless, and Lloyd feels a surge of doubt before he shoves it away.

Lloyd may not be the Master of Water, but he is the Master of Energy. And as far as he knew, energy was everywhere. Nyad may have become one with the Sea, but she lost herself to the ocean and disappeared for thousands of years. 

Lloyd couldn’t let that happen to Nya. 

Lloyd was the Green Ninja, the savior of Ninjago. He was always destined to sacrifice himself for it, but nobody mentioned anything about his friends. Everything he had gone through— the Overlord and his father, Morro’s possession and Harumi— it all led up to this moment. 

This is for his friends. Everything he had done was for his friends— every harsh blow from battle and hair ruffle in the morning. They had taken him in when he was a kid and gave him a home and a family. They had raised him, trained him, loved him even when he was being nothing but a bratty child who gave them problems.  

Lloyd turns and stares back at the door where his family was sleeping, unaware. 

Kai’s fiery courage, Nya’s fierce determination, Cole’s easy kindness, Jay’s bright intelligence, Zane’s gentle empathy, P.I.X.A.L’s snarking camaraderie, Benthomaar’s hesitant friendship, Wu’s aging wisdom, Misako’s sense of adventure. 

His family. 

Lloyd turns away, blinking back the sudden tears as green power lights his hands and he starts spinning.

💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨

“Bentho, how did Nyad defeat Wojira? In the story you told me?”

“… she became one with the sea.”

“But how exactly?”

“She opened herself up to the full power of the ocean. She merged with it.”

“…”

“Do not think of such things! Nyad may have defeated Wojira but she lost herself. What she did cannot be undone. She vanished.”

“…”

💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨

Lloyd opens his eyes, feeling light shining from the inside out as his green power spreads. Energy floods his body, feeling light and fleeting as Lloyd reaches down to the core of his power— and lets it loose. 

Lloyd thinks of Cole and his Spinjitzu Burst, deep in the depths of Shintaro’s mountains. Unparalleled power had exploded from the earth and wrapped his brother in his element. 

Lloyd can feel it happening too— but it's different. Green power is rushing around him, light blinding his vision, the particles on his skin transforming into pure energy. 

Then— 

BOOM!

A sonic sound wave explodes throughout the sky. The light tapers off.  Lloyd opens his new eyes and looks down at his body. Green energy swirls around in the shape of his old body.

He feels light, powerful, new— Lloyd is filled with boundless energy, free to travel wherever he likes and too fleeting to ever catch. 

Lloyd realizes he’s flying and spins around, laughing. The door to the rooftop suddenly slams open, and his family pours out— Kai and Wu in the lead as they stop and stare at their brother and nephew. 

“Lloyd!” Kai calls. Jay and Nya join them, the former leaning on his girlfriend heavily as he stares at his little brother disbelievingly. 

Lloyd frowns at how weak Jay looks. That can’t do— Jay will need to be at full strength when they beat Wojira. He flys down, ignoring the flinch of surprise from the others and presses a hand to Jay’s chest. 

Green energy lights up, and suddenly Jay is able to breathe easier— like his lungs weren’t even damaged at all. Nya stares at Lloyd, looking pained for some reason.

Lloyd pulls away as Wojira roars her challenge, his power picking up in anticipation. 

“Lloyd, wait!” Wu calls— but it's too late. With another BOOM! Lloyd takes off, flying at the speed of sound to confront Wojira once and for all. 

It is time to finish what his grandfather couldn’t.

💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨

Nobody notices the crystal spider on the wall, violet eyes recording everything. 

Clink… clink… clink… 

The spider scurries back to its master. 

💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨🐉 💚✨ “Spider’s in the house,

Sleep, sleep

Spider bit the mouse, 

Sleep deep

Don’t wake up or else 

You’ll find a spider in your m—”

The song breaks off, and the dark figure turns from the computer to see a crystal spider making its way towards her. 

She kneels down, dark cape fluttering and kabuki mask flipped up as the mechanical spider crawls into her hand. She strokes it gently. “Did you find everything I need?” She asks. 

The spider’s eye flashes, and then a holographic video is playing in the crystalized room. The bright screen contrasts the dark room, the purple and pink hues drowned out by the light images playing. 

The Herald purses her lips, fingers tightening on the spider she is gripping unconsciously as the video finishes. 

“I see,” Harumi says. She turns and stares at the giant crystal protruding in the middle of the Oni Temple. “This changes things.” 

“Time to make some alterations to the previous plan.”

[sepublic]

They did the Keepers SO dirty in Seabound!!! They’ve dedicated themselves since the dawn of time to preventing Wojira’s return, and Nyad herself was evidently a Keeper, but then Seabound actually rolls around and they end up doing nothing to help. Those annoying British guys who stole the amulet from them, the reason the Keepers can’t help, get to do more to prevent Wojira’s return than they do.

Idk it just frustrates me how Clutch and the Explorers Club literally stole from the Keepers but the show still acts like the ninja are required to play by their rules, as if the ninja don’t steal all the time from other bad guys. Because even if the show is making a joke about them being stuffy British guys, it’s still kinda downplaying their colonial aspect by portraying them as goofy comedic relief who get their time in the spotlight helping out, especially with how Clutch doesn’t even get a slap on the wrist for rendering half of The Island for nothing.

This is getting into conspiracy territory but I wonder if someone higher up realized the racial implications of the Keepers, but the sets were too far into development to redo everything, so they minimized the number of episodes they dedicated to The Island to brush past it as quickly as possible, and that’s also why the Keepers do basically nothing in Seabound.

Of course, despite the attempts to minimize the issues with the Keepers’ portrayal (making them not bad guys, it’s all just a misunderstanding and they even treat their prisoners fairly well!) the show still falls into some racist traps, like making them superstitious natives who get fooled by more ‘civilized’ peoples and need other civilized people to rescue them. Timothy gets to play a role in stopping Ronin using one of their catamarans, but not the Keepers whom Ronin was exploiting in the first place (and this is coming after Master of the Mountain, which did much more to give the Munce and Geckles agency against Vangelis).

And then the show tried to subvert the trope of natives worshipping a foreigner as a god… By having then sacrifice him to appease another deity instead. When you add all this and how the narrative acts as if the Keepers can’t be entrusted to protect the storm amulet (but Shintaro can), it comes across as deeply infantilizing. It’s also just wasted potential from a basic storytelling perspective, because these guys literally have lightning powers tailored to fight aquatic beings but then never interact with the Merlopians. Mammatus would’ve soloed Kalmaar.