#Volume 8 critical

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

What i hate about folks claiming that ironwoods fall was good writing and we are just bitter fans is that they forget every character was fucked over in v8. No character came out of the season better written or with more nuance. V8 writing activelly made every character worse. 3/4 of our main girls sit in the mansion for most of the volume, the other team let a grimm transform for 30 seconds and take oscar, the man that beats up a kid for 3 episodes is redeemed in death i guess, oscar has a bomb in the cane now, emerald is forgiven and trusted somehow, everybody forgets that cinder is in atlas even tho ruby fought her in v7 finale, harriet was in love clover now i guess, qrow blames everyone except tyrian for clovers death, his teased fight with ironwood never happens cause robyn uses talk no jutsu on him while bad mouthing a dead man... and the list goes on and on and on, not even touching the penny stuff. Not only ironwood fans should be disapointed at this shit?

It is so strange to me anon. I don't understand why anyone is happy with any of the character arcs in volume 8. We have RWBY and JNR being narratively treated as completely interchangeable without any changes to account for the different character arcs. Worse, as you said, none of the characters had any sort of arc in volume 8.

The characters don't really question any of their decisions, they don't really have to deal with the consequences of their actions, they don't have to struggle to figure out what to do, they're just handed everything they need on a silver platter with no effort to make it happen. Hell only Yang has 8 volumes in faced Salem face to face. Only one fourth of the main cast has faced off against the main antagonist of the series. Yet for some reason we just had to shove in a whole arc of James being a villain so much so that he is labeled as a main character of the volume and Blake, again one of the four main title characters, is labeled as a side character.

Volume 8 is a poorly written mess that fans want to be good because they have invested too much time in the show to accept that it has poor writing in it. You're allowed to like a show with a bad season. I still adore for example Star Wars Rebels despite hating the second half of season 4. Sometimes shows you love screw up. You can still like the thing and accept that it screwed up and criticize those screw ups. Taking the time the point out ways a show can be improved is a way to show you care, because you spend your valuable time pointing out things to improve shows you care enough to want to see it better.

In the RWDE community at least not just Ironwood fans are annoyed with what happened, fans of every character are frustrated because the writing is so damn inconsistent and poorly done. But these fans refuse to see this and don't want to see the problems in the writing.

#RWDE #RWBY critical #Volume 8 critical

[rhatatootie]

Just saw a post about how RWBY became unwatchable after they killed Watts off but like the second he started mouthing off at Cinder I knew he was dead. Like did she need to hear some of that sure but Cinder is not about to take criticism from someone like WATTS.

Cinder is a maiden with the backing of SALEM, a trigger finger and something to prove. Was Watts right? Yeah, but now he’s got to die. He’s annoying and useless. Cinder used him for what she needed and discarded him. He got “everything he deserved.”

And it’s not like he’ll be missed necessarily. He had knowledge of atlas tech but atlas does not exist anymore. He didn’t even have one of the top three semblances on Salems team when it was still whole - those three spots going to Hazel, Emerald and Tyrian - like he was not making it out of volume 8 and I think it’s so funny that people are mad about that. Salem is not about to miss him she didn’t even ask about him :P.

He mouthed off at trigger finger, power hungry, has something to prove Cinder, and then expected her not to retaliate. Yeah okay lmaoooo

#RWBY #cinder fall #arthur watts #salem #Volume 8 spoilers #becoming the number one RWBY defender #because there are some odd takes out here #there are flaws but you never see those criticized as much as #man who I liked and thought did no wrong got punishment for his crimes #james ironwood #Adam Taurus #trust I love ironwood he was my dude but he got what he was getting 😭 #and cinder will get what she gets soon enough but I think we’ve learned that anyone who gets in her way she’s going after #also do not take me as me hating watts I could never he was too fruity but he was a bit too cocky too #he was debating cinder with his little finger rings and she can incinerate him with her mind come on

[age-of-moonknight]

“The Terminal Seconds of Moon Knight,” Moon Knight (Vol. 9/2021), #30.

Writer: Jed MacKay; Penciler and Inker: Alessandro Cappuccio; Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg; Letterer: Cory Petit

#Marvel #Marvel comics #Marvel 616 #Moon Knight comics #latest release #Moon Knight #Marc Spector #Jake Lockley #Steven Grant #brb crying in da club #but no for real this reminds me both of Moon Knight (vol. 8/2016) no. 14 and a bit of vol. 9 no. 14 #if I ever had one criticism of this run it’s that I wish we could have seen more of Steven and Jake #and I get some of the explanations that there have been many volumes that focused on that dynamic while this volume #had a largely new supporting cast to introduce #but still… #but at least when Jake and Steven do show up on panel it’s an absolute delight

[iamafanofcartoons]

Take a look at these two photos. These were what were happening in RWBY V8′s second to last episode.

Now then...take a look at these edited ones.

Memeable , isn’t it? Especially if you remove all context. Ruby in this episode was focusing on Cinder, gathering up mental focus on what makes life Sacred in order to use her silver eyes against Salem’s Maiden.

Neo? Was trying to attack Ruby from Behind.

Yang? Intercepted Neo  by pushing Ruby out of the way, and using her own body to shield her sister, due to Neo being an extremely fast opponent, faster than Yang.

RWDE and R/RWBYCritics took advantage of the facial expressions to manipulate audiences into believing that Ruby ONLY made those expressions after Yang fell. In order to make it look like Ruby was apathetic.

You wanna see Ruby’s facial expressions? HERE

A sister horrified at losing her sibling. The image that every single RWBY Critic will hide from you, because showing this image provides context, showing this image showed that Ruby cared, showing this image, means that the criticism is based on lying.

When your criticism revolves around editing images to provide an out of context take on the situation, your critique should lose all validity, and be classified as bad-faith criticism.

Sadly, these days, Criticism is no longer about providing context, and more about lying. Its about editing things to be taken out of context. The reason people hate on V8 is due to people literally lying about what happens.

What makes this worse is that lies spread like wildfire, are harder to debunk, and the more people that repeated said lies, the more people are willing to take lies as truth over the actual truth.

And this, sadly, is part of the reason why Media Literacy is dead. Because truth doesn’t matter anymore...simply what people want to be the truth or what people want their take on the truth to be.

#media literacy #rwby discussion #rwby meta #rwby #rwby v8 #rwby volume 8 #rwby neo #neopolitian (rwby) #neo politan #rwby ruby #rwby ruby rose #rwby yang #yang xiao long #rwby analysis #taken out of context #media literacy is dead #bad-faith criticism #cinder fall #rwby cinder #iamafanofcartoons

[sylvyspritii]

RWBY ramble

(EDIT: I originally wanted to make a very small post about RWBY but i accidentally kept typing because i have feelings okay) Okay listen i only have ONE really strong RWBY opinion okay? Ironwood in volume 7 was a totally different character than Ironwood in volume 8, the writers completely ruined his character, and his turn in volume 8 was totally out of character and unbelieveable They ruined the most interesting morally grey character in the series to get a clear black and white conflict, and in my opinion, it was a waste of potential, especially for the long-term story To be honest i could go on and on about how volume 8 ruined RWBY for me (EDIT: i did) I was one of those fans that came in RWBY really late, i remember it really well, it was around 2019/2020-ish, i watched the first 2 volumes as a joke because i heard how "cringe" it was, and i legitemately found the first 2 volumes to be pretty bad, aside from the fight scene animations, but i kept watching for some reason Then when i got to volume 3, well, holy fucking shit??? Like, it went from "i'm watching this ironically to see how bad it is" to "WAIT THIS IS ACTUALLY KINDA GOOD THO?!?!?!" VERY quickly, like wow, volume 3 actually really impressed me Volume 4 was a bit slower paced, but i think it's really great that they took more time to develop the lore and backstory of the world beyond Beacon Volume 5 and 6 were "alright" to me, but it's volume 7 where things REALLY started to click for me, the stakes were higher than ever, we got awesome returning characters, familiar faces in the direst of times, combined with more spotlight for characters that needed more fleshing out, and pretty decent new characters, combined with the REALLY GOOD rising tension of the looming threat, i fucking loved volume 7, and Ironwood was a HUGE part of what made volume 7 so memorable, having that kind of morally gray "i'll do what's right at all costs" kind of character with trust issues was exactly what the happy go lucky gang of the main cast of RWBY needed to balance things out, but its his genuine trust and willingness to believe the main cast that makes his downfall all the more sad, Ironwood sacrifices so much in order to help everyone, including the main cast, even promoting them to huntresses, which has been a huge goal for them since the start of the series, and yet, in volume 8, it feels like the Ironwood from volume 7 becomes a different person in the span of the gap between the two seasons, it's ridicolous, all the nuance was removed Yes, i am still disappointed about this years later, not particularly because of Ironwood specifically (altough i do admit i liked him a lot because he was such a good balance for the main cast to make things more mature and nuanced instead of black and white), but because of the downfall of my expectations when it came to the quality of the writing since volume 3 took my heart by storm (positive), it felt like my journey with RWBY was such a rollercoaster, it was like, "this is cringe let's keep going as a joke" to "I GENUINLY CARE ABOUT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU AND THIS WORLD AND IT KEEPS GETTING BETTER HOLY SHIT" to "...they ruined everything", i have yet to watch volume 9, but my expectations are very low because of volume 8

#rwby #volume 7 #volume 8 #rwby volume 7 #rwby volume 8 #rwby 7 #rwby 8 #ironwood #opinion #opinions #rwbycritics #rwby critical #rwby criticism

[slamburger]

It bugs me when people say RWBY weapon designs aren’t creative anymore.

I’ve got five words for you:

Motherfuckin’ Boomerang Chainsaw Assault Rifle.

It’s called Fetch.

Look me dead in the eyes and tell me that’s not creative.

Impractical? For sure. Absurd? Perhaps.

But creative? Most certainly.

#rwby #rwby weapons #marrow #marrow amin #RWBY marrow #Rwby volume 7 #rwby volume 8 #rwby vol 7 #RWBY vol 8 #rwby critics

[orcelito]

my heart fucking dropped here. Vash compartmentalizing like crazy, and then the reveal of him having used nearly half of his remaining life power...

using his literal life force to give himself time to bury wolfwood and recover...

for His Sake... eat and regain strength for Him...

aaaaand i started crying here for the Fifth Time at the callback to when vash and wolfwood fought over the sausage while eating spaghetti

aaahahaahahaha

and that's the end of volume 10! ahah ha ha h ha

Ha.

#speculation nation #fanny reads trigun #trigun spoilers/ #last image. is how i feel right now. #literally. 5 times crying. LITERALLY i have cried only three times total this year besides this #so now i have cried 8 times. and FIVE OF THEM. were for wolfwood. #(yes im keeping track. i cry so rarely it's very easy to keep track of how many times i cry.) #i am. never going to be the same person after this. #my entire vashwood experience up until now was Knowing this was going to happen #recognizing the Painful Things. the Couch. the 'I wanted to share my tomorrows with him'. and so on. #but i really was not prepared. i reaaaaaally was not prepared. #i shouldve fuckin saved this for a time when i dont have a presentation in the morning (that i havent even started) #it's... it's fine... i'll be fine. #ultimately this was happening NOW and i couldnt really stop it. #volume 10. fucking Volume Ten man. nothing else has hit me harder. #really this is a new record. previous records for things that have made me cry were tales of xillia 2 that made me cry twice #critical role calamity made me cry twice. nabari no ou made me cry at Least once & i was fuckin bawling so that counts for smth #but. five times. tears down my face sobbing Five Times. nothing has EVER made me cry this much before. this is literally insane. #oh wolfwood.............

[apaise]

mondays at westview are usually pretty sluggish. with most kids winding down from the weekend parties, the halls are typically awash with zombies clutching their coffee and red bulls throughout the day. that’s why cass is so surprised when the school day ends and she finds the foyer buzzing with excitement and gossip. everyone clusters around the bulletin board, obsessing over what cass can only assume is some sports news or dance theme announcement.

yet when she steps closer to the board, she immediately recognizes lexi and her friends plastered across the front page of the hillford herald. normally, cass would be ecstatic for no retreat making headlines, but . . . the title immediately snuffs out any spark of joy. 

LOCAL BAND HITS ALL THE WRONG NOTES: westview’s no retreat offers an evening of chaotic cacophony.

❝  shit -- shit. ❞ without thinking, cass pushes through the crowd, ripping down the pinned first page. “ooooooo...” “no fun, cass,”  “cass what the fuck,” “i was still reading!” a bunch of comments erupt from the audience in protest, but she ignores them, crumpling the page and shoving it into her backpack. ❝ all right guys, move along; nothing to see here, ❞ cass begins to shoo them off, receiving a bunch of scoffs and boos. thankfully most don’t care enough to fight her, but some grab the newspapers from the baskets to continue their read. cass groans as she realizes this won’t be easy to bury, bumping marcel aside as she forcibly grabs the whole stack. 

maybe she should just toss them in the dumpster out back. then there’d be a smaller chance of people seeing them. in the midst of figuring out her next course of action, cass accidentally skims some of the front page. she recognizes the writer -- willa higgins -- a known “critic” from eastwood. cass and the theater club had definitely been subjected to some of her reviews before ( although they never made the front page ). 

the article was composed with her usual level of discernment, making jabs like “the sparse crowd offered little feedback, but there was plenty from the squeaking mic” while also pointing out the lack of a proper music venue in hillford to begin with. by now cass was used to willa’s brand of merciless honesty, but it hurt to see it directed towards lexi and the gang.

she’s in the middle of trying to cram more newspapers into her backpack when she spots a familiar pair of combat boots at the sticky tile.  ❝ oh -- ❞ cass looks up, immediately spotting lexi and immediately looking horrifed. fuck fuck fuck fuck. ❝  hey, lex, ❞ she smiles, leaning back in an attempt to look natural. above her head, a few strands of shredded newspaper remain pinned to the board.

 ❝ what’s up? ❞ ( @feveredblurs​ )

#( THIS GOT LONG CUZ OF THE SETUP AND HAVING TO DESCRIBE THE NEWSPAPERS BUT YEAH ) #( hope cass calling her lex is okay lKJASDF i don't think she always does it though just sometimes ) #( didn't want the post to be so long so i didn't elaborate on the article too much but ) #( other criticism might include stuff like all the spotlights made the room really hot ) #( microphones were at different volumes so some instruments overpowering the others etc. ) #( ANYWAY PUMPED FOR THESE GIRLS BUT SO SAD FOR LEXI 8)))) ) #feveredblurs #( c: cass )

[yurimother]

Star Student X Delinquent Yuri Romance Manga 'I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl' Licensed in English

On Saturday, Kodansha USA announced at its Anime Expo 2023 panel that it has licensed Kashikaze's I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl (Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai) for English publication. The first volume of the school romance Yuri manga will be released in the spring of 2024.

I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl follows Ayaka Sakurai, a star student gifted in both academics and athletics. However, she gets nervous about exams, so has to settle for a lesser high school than she intended.

When her homeroom teacher recognizes Ayaka's struggle, she offers her a recommendation letter that could get her into any school of her choice, on one condition. She has to convince the delinquent girl, Sora Honda, to come to school. Thus the goody-goody Sakurai is thrust into a web of blackmail that might just lead to romance!

I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl was serialized in Comic Yuri Hime from 2019 until its conclusion in October 2022. Ichijinsha publishes six collected volumes of the manga in Japanese.

The manga received positive reviews from audiences and critics. Erica Friedman awarded the first Japanese volume an 8/10 score on Okazu, and the series won 12th place overall in Yuri Navi's fifth Yuri Manga Sousenkyo in 2021.

Kashikaze is a Japanese Yuri artist. She has contributed to multiple Yuri anthologies, including Canelé: Soeur, Shibuya Gyaru, and Chocolat: Shkaijin Yuri Anthology. She also released a side story doujinshi focusing on the side characters from I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl.

Look forward to the release of the first volume of I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl in the Spring of 2024.

Source: Kodansha USA Website, Kodansha Comics Twitter

#yuri #girls love #lgbt #gl #gay #lgbtq #news #manga #anime expo #anime expo 2023 #queer #lesbian #anime #yuri manga #gl manga #yuri anime #gl anime #I can't say no to the lonely girl

[voidzphere]

☆ MASTERPOST // INTRO !!!

[ KILLER SANS ASK BLOG OWNED BY ME: @killersanz ]

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

╭───────────── * ˚ ✦

HAIII !!! im killer, but my friendz + mootz call me killz !! welcome to my blog u gayass :3 (more stuff under the cut!!)

╰───────────── ✧.* ⋆

✩ ABOUT ME !!! >_<

FIRST OFF, HERE ARE SOME OF MY FLAGZ !!! :3 ↓↓↓

my main prnz are he/it/bite, but i alzo use vamp/fang/bone/skull/blood/gore/knife ! (plz dont refer 2 me w they/them)

my special interest is undertale + utmv ! (if that waznt obv enough..)

i love love LOVE horror gamez .. some of my favz rn are kinitopet, imscared, house, ddlc, rental, and bonnie's bakery :]

I HAVE A PERSONA ! u can find itz ref sheet here :] i uzually draw myself as either him or juzt killer sans !!

I LOOOVE MY MOOTZ, FRIENDZ, AND PARTNERZ <333

some of my current hyperfixationz are fionna & cake, smg4, regretevator, atsv, invader zim, adventure time & dialtown !

i have a guestbook !! leave a little note for me to read if u want :3

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some of my fav songz are alien blues, vampire culture, laplace's angel, dr sunshine is dead, all i want is you, seriously?, genius of love, at the movies, charlie's inferno, etc. !

✩ my tagz !

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✩ dni

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istz + phobez

epiciller, /r + /sx errorink, etc.

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irl doublez (unless i knew u beforehand!!) (im irlz of killer, reaper, & epic.)

minorz who post nsfw cuz ion wanna see that shit man go do ur homework

slander of my interestz/special interestz + hyperfixationz like stfu

mockery of me and/or my traitz (i.e my typing quirkz)

unwanted criticism, especially if i didnt ask for it. stfu part 2

anyone i've had drama with + my exez (fuck you)

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✩ byi + boundariez

i have autism + adhd, BPD, & typing quirkz !! tone indicatorz are optional when talking to me, but i appreciate them.

i'm an irl + fictkin ! i have a few c-linkz as well.

im not a roleplay account btw /srs

my art requestz are alwayz open ! can't promise i'll alwayz do them, but they help me out with inspiration though :3

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if you use my art, credit me. you dont alwayz gotta ask me before usin my art, but i appreciate it if you do !!

my askbox + dmz are alwayz open !! i love meetin new people n gettin to know em :] im fine w tagz, commentz, & spam-likez/reblogz too !

i might accidentally spam-like (i get too excited).

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i'm nonhuman !! plz do not refer to me as human. i prefer skeleton termz over everything else. im ur favorite homozexual cryptid-skeleton :3

i tend to ramble, say thingz that are out-of-pocket, have trouble with volume control/typing in all capz, make inappropriate jokez, flirt with & tease my close friendz, etc. if u ever find any of this bothering, plz inform me and i will stop.

i love drama + gossip, i will argue with strangerz on the internet just to spite them bc i find it funny ^_^ (only if theyre in the wrong and deserve it.)

i have strong opinionz and will shit-talk you if you're a weirdo who deservez it.

my blog, my rulez <3

★ last updated: 5/8/24

#killz yapz #every drawing in this was drawn by my finger #my finger is now numb #i'll update this anytime i can :] #killer sans #something new #utmv #sans au #undertale au #masterpost #artist intro #killz art #killz fingie doodlez

[fataldrum]

Who's Afraid of Bad Attempts at Journalism?

Some of you may have seen a callout post on Medium about Rusty Quill. The author claims to have spoken with a number of people who worked with RQ. The allegations are worth considering, but they should be taken with a heavy grain of salt.

I have trouble taking the callout post seriously for a number of reasons.

The author is head of marketing for Fable & Folly. They initially failed to mention this, but later added this incredibly defensive note: "Editor’s Note: [name] is currently the Marketing Director for Fable & Folly Network, but has worked as an independent creator and journalist for longer." That's a huge conflict of interest.

2. I'm not seeing any evidence that this person is a "journalist." They don't list it on the resume on their website. If they are a journalist, they're not doing it on Medium with (as of this writing) 47 followers.

3. The article title is pure clickbait. It suggests Alex J. Newall is someone to be afraid of and makes vague allegations of RQ showing "aggression," but he's barely mentioned in the article at all. It's an unnecessarily inflammatory title, but that's what they seem to want: to stir drama.

4. The article uses TMA character names as pseudonyms. This was extremely distracting and gave the whole post a weird, cartoonish vibe. As was the decision to use the phrase, "Make your statement, face your fear" to link the post.

5. The article depends entirely on anonymous sources. While anonymous sources are necessary sometimes, the problem is that no one can independently verify what they said. They claim the sources asked to be anonymous because they were afraid RQ would retaliate and ruin their careers, or the fandom would attack them. That may be true. Or it may be because they signed NDAs, which would make it illegal to publicly discuss what happened. An NDA would be a good reason not to come forward, but unfortunately, we can't ask them about it, because they're anonymous.

6. They claim RQ has threatened to sue multiple people--okay, what were the circumstances? It literally never comes back up. Were these NDA violations? Breach of contract? No clue, they don't bother to elaborate.

7. They talk about salaries in different currencies without converting, in the same paragraph. Then they bring up the rates for freelance audio engineers, as if freelancers don't generally get higher rates than in-house staff.

8. The author is finding posts on Twitter and blocking anyone who disagrees with them. I've never interacted with the author, but they found my post and blocked me and others on the thread for daring to criticize the article. That alone speaks volumes about their professionalism. (And also explains why I didn't find any critical comments when I first looked: they're probably all banned).

There are doubtlessly far more issues with the post, but those are just the ones that were immediately apparent.

None of this is to say I think RQ is a well-run company. The dismissive treatment of their server mods alone tells me they have serious problems. But we should all think carefully when we read the allegations in the post, and consider the credibility and motivations of the author.

[intrepid-fictioneer-7]

How to read the Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Light Novels

I was recently reminded that there is a lot of people who simply don’t know that they can read the Case Files light novels, and that there are people who do know but have no idea where to find them. This is especially a problem when these people have only watched the anime and want to know where they can find more of the story. Since it kind of requires you to go through some hoops (not a whole lot but still), I decided to take a page out of @humbertozero​‘s excellent Fate/strange Fake resource post and make one for my other favorite Type-Moon Fate spinoff, the dossiers of El-Melon.

Read the First Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.1 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Second Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.2 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Third Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.3 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Fourth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.4 (PDF) (EPUB1) (EPUB2)

Read the Fifth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.5 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Sixth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.6 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Seventh Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.7 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Eighth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.8 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Ninth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.9 (PDF) (EPUB)

Read the Tenth Volume: Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Vol.10 (PDF) (EPUB)

Important note!

It should be noted first that I am just the compiler here. I am neither the translator nor am I the files’ creator. So all credits go to...

Credits

Credits and thanks to TwilightsCall on the Beast Lair forums (from which the majority of the other creditors originally posted their contributions) for translating the first 4 volumes and some of volume 5, thus getting the ball rolling. Further thanks to azwhoisverybored for translating the rest of the series from volume 6 onwards, and thanks to Kneenaw for starting the translation for the rest of volume 5. Thanks to Dotelias for making EPUBs for volumes 1-3, thanks to  cereal_ for making EPUBs of volume 4, thanks to u/confusedkuratowski on Reddit for making EPUB of volume 6, and thanks to ProtoformX for making PDFs and EPUBs for volumes 5 to 10 as well as for Adventures volume 1!

And big thanks to Makoto Sanda for writing Case Files in the first place!

Further explanations

Anime

The anime adaptation of Case Files, with the mouthful of a title that is Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note, is particular to use as an entry-point in the series, because it only partially adapts the series. See, the author, Makoto Sanda, said in interview that the two first arcs/cases in the series didn’t quite work as scripts for anime episodes, so the anime only adapted the third case/arc, Rail Zeppelin, which is more action oriented than the more mystery focused first arcs. But because they still needed to explain stuff like Gray, Reines, El-Melloi’s students, etc., many of whom are relevant characters to the arc, the first half/six episodes of the anime is about introducing them.

So to the question “where do I start reading after the anime?”, the answer is unironically to restart at volume 1. And then you may skip volumes 4-5 since they are the Rail Zeppelin arc and there are not much differences besides some characters not being present during that arc. This is why I think you can watch the anime first if that’s more your speed (I have my problems and criticisms of the anime but that’s irrelevant to this post).

And you can’t start with the anime and start reading with volume 6, the first 3 volumes have characters and plot points that come back for the final arc, so you’re gonna be incredibly lost if you think to consume the series this way.

Weirdly enough, despite being original episodes, the anime originals are most likely canon in some ways. Episode 0, the original OVA, is an expansion of an anecdote Gray mentions in the first volume’s prologue, and Episode 1 takes place during Waver’s travels before the story starts and is an actual story, one of the 3 incidents Sanda has in mind for Waver’s journey before he returned to London. Episodes 2 to 6 take place during the one month period between volume 3 and volume 4, and finally the special OVA take place on Christmas also in between arcs.

Manga

The manga has gorgeous art, but, at the time of writing, it is unfortunately only translated up to the second case right now. Still, go check it out.

The Adventures of El-Melloi II

The sequel series currently ongoing, started a year after the first Case Files ended in 2019. You might know it as “the (other) series where Rin shows up grown up and also a pirate”. @reignsan has been compiling pretty thorough chapter-by-chapter summaries of the volumes by @kaibutsushidousha if you don’t mind being spoiled. Or you can be patient and wait for azwhoisverybored to finish translating them on Beast Lair in this thread.

At the time of writing (27/07/23), the first volume of Adventures has been completed and compiled into PDF and EPUB forms.

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files material

This is absolutely not required reading in any shape or form, those lore books are usually of interest only to dumb nerds like me lol. A timeline of the Clock Tower? An explanation of its politics? Yes please. But it also has insights into the characters by the author that aren’t in the books proper, as well as behind-the-scenes explanations for some decisions (for example, why it’s Gray with the American spelling instead of Grey with the British spelling). Only the glossary/encyclopedia is translated, but give it a look...after you read the series, because it assumes you did and has some big spoilers.

Drama CD

What’s that? You heard something about a Buzzfeed quizz about the most handsome Clock Tower teachers and how it’s somehow a plot point? Look no further than one of my only posts that did numbers. Read the summary, it’s hilarious.

#lord el-melloi II case files #Lord El Melloi II Case Files #Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files #fate series #TYPE-MOON #nasuverse #lord el melloi ll #Lord El-Melloi II #Gray (Fate) #reines el-melloi archisorte #reines el melloi archisorte #flat escardos #svin glascheit #would you believe what I spent the most time on was finding a free collage making site allowing this grid layout for 10 pics? #never again #but it made me realize how neat the symmetry of the covers for books of a same arc are

[ash-says]

I think your page speaks volumes about the way you’ve perceived and endured life and I’m sorry you haven’t had the time or opportunity to soak up the good things that are all around you, I hope you develop skills that allow your success to be built off of things that are good and pure and not cheap manipulation tactics and lies

Devil may care: A guide on being unbothered.

Okay, and??

Sweetheart, I really appreciate your unwanted sympathies and illusionary sensitivity directed towards me. In our culture when someone is being sweet, kind and helpful (even if fake) we make sure that we pay them back with something valuable. Here's a small guide curated for you that will help you in being self secure so you won't feel threatened by other people's success and opinions.

1) Have a life:

Nothing screams idle to me more than this. Like you have time to be offended by someone's post and comments which you might just scroll by and ignore?? On top of that going above and beyond to let that person know. Okay, Sushma. Now log off and do the pending coursework.

2) Build genuine confidence:

Ladies, fake it till you make it can only go this far. You have to work on your underlying issues and address them. If you don't you are susceptible to triggering even by a mere stranger. Confident people don't need to go above and beyond to prove other people. They embody it.

3) Self awareness:

It's tiring to explain this. Just Google it at this point. This word is thrown like a football everywhere. You know it. Do the homework.

4) Practice self compassion and boundaries:

Negative feedback is part and parcel of life. Accept it, analyse and if it applies adopt or otherwise ignore. Boundaries are important to understand the difference between constructive criticism and disrespect.

If disrespected don't be afraid to put a bitch in place. Until then shut your mouth and concentrate on your goals.

5) Opinions are subjective:

Everyone has their own life experiences and opinions are formed based on those. Your Roman Empire might be different from your friends but does it mean it's invalid? No. Develop empathy and open-mindedness. Not everyone has the same views. It's okay.

6) Develop a thick skin:

You can't survive in this world if you are triggered by the tiniest of things. You have to be comfortable in being painted both as a hero and as a villain. Don't let others opinion get to your head. Owe to yourself that I will stand in my truth thou glory or disgrace.

7) Reflect a rbf stance:

When someone tries to belittle you, try to put you down, talk shit about you. Your body language should be cold and reserved with a rbf that screams intimidation but all you are going to say is Okay, and??

8) Master Sarcasm:

I have said this before and I will say it again. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Sarcasm is the ice in it. Ladies learn sarcasm. It's the one way ticket to put people in their place in a humorous way.

9) Be classy. Be polite. BE UNTOUCHABLE.

Who do you think will be named as the crazy one? The one who is screaming and belittling someone or the one who is still being polite but discreetly showing the person where they belong. Never resort to screaming and shouting. That's dumb. Second never go out of your way to prove how you are relevant. Take it or leave it mentality.

10) Seek professional help:

Even after all of this you are not able to practice being unbothered. I think a therapist is the best solution for you.

P.S. :Ladies, this is what I mean when I say leverage the fuck out of your connections and opportunities. This is how you turn a negative into a positive.

Plus I am petty enough to not let this disrespect slide but thought it would be a good content idea for my posts, isn't it??

That's all for today's show on ash-says. Stay tuned for more illegal tricks and explosive opinions.

#gaslight gatekeep girlboss #girlblogging #glow up #it girl #self care #that girl #dark feminine energy #self love #becoming that girl #becoming her #that girl aesthetic #it girl aesthetic #level up journey #level up #the 48 laws of power #thewizardliz #wonyoungism #ash-says #self development #self help #self reflection #self improvement #advice #wellness #dream girl aesthetic #dream girl #pink pilates girl #pink pilates princess #coqeutte #femme fatale

[iamafanofcartoons]

It may have taken me 3 and 1/2 years, but thanks to somebody on the sub mistaking an obviously photoshopped image of Cinder with giant pink-and-purple striped horns and lavender-colored gauntlets for an official screenshot of V8, I have lost all confidence in/desire to look at r/RWBYcritics. In addition to never looking at it again, I will now refer to it as r/negative one because, in my opinion, their "criticisms" contribute less than nothing to the show, it's fandom, and the people who make it.

Their moderators literally allow people to break the very rules of the subreddit on a regular basis.

Their posts and comments involve harassing the fandom.

They speak ill of the writers every week.

The comment sections are full of so much misogynistic comments towards female fictional characters you'd think it was a masashi kishimoto fan club.

They repeatedly talk about taking RWBY away from the writers, or praising anyone who insults the show.

They treat anyone who tries to defend the show as being unable to take criticism when we're just trying to talk about the good in the show.

Their members include people who have harassed voice actresses, and two youtubers who actively go out of their way to harass RWBY fans and encourage their followers to harass them.

Here's an edited screenshot of Cinder from Volume 8.

If people are going to seriously claim that this is somehow a legit unedited screenshot in any way shape or form, then it just proves that the only reason critics watch rwby is to hate on it and lie.

But of course, we know how critic apologists would go.

People have a lot to gain by lying maliciously about show.

#cinder fall #rwby cinder #rwby v8 #rwby volume 8 #rwby critics #r/rwbycritics

[sir-adamus]

whenever i think of Ironwood's 'grand plan' after he gets spooked by a piece from a board game i always have to laugh because it was never gonna work, it was unsustainable from jump and only got progressively more unfeasible as volume 8 progressed

"we're going to use the staff to lift Atlas into the atmosphere where Grimm can't reach and leave everyone in Mantle to rot because if the poors didn't want to die they should've been born with money like the rest of us"

yeah cool bro, so given what we (finally) see of Atlas in volume 8 they've got some atmospheric control to accommodate for the temperature and presumably thinner air at the height Atlas is already floating at

and what powers that again? right, Dust. cos Dust powers everything

and you would have to assume that to maintain the current level of atmospheric control in a much higher altitude, that machinery would have to be cranked well the fuck up, which means more Dust is needed. and they can't mine for more because... they're up in the atmosphere, and their supply chain and underpaid exploited labourers got left to die on the ground

so power's gonna run out real fast and everyone's gonna suffocate and die slowly (guess Jimmy really wants to beat out Mountain Glenn on 'World's Largest Tomb')

but let's say by some miracle they do last longer than a week up there - food's gonna run out and they're not gonna be able to keep up supply and demand because they can't import any, supply chain is gone and they abandoned the rest of the planet to die to Salem. hell, water is gonna run out

and then the most ridiculous argument for the plan "Grimm can't fly that high". cos like. no. Grimm don't fly that high, because they don't need to. none of y'all were up there. just like none of y'all lived in the snowy tundras of the north so there weren't Grimm up there. until there were - funny how that works. and Salem's specifically been shown to be able to alter the Grimm without much issue - this wouldn't be a "one day the Grimm will adapt and fly that high" it's "give Salem maybe an hour and she'll make something that can get that high"

so yeah, the whole plan is stupid and it's basically just handing Salem the Staff because all she would have to do is wait out everyone dying from lack of air and then just going up there and taking the damn thing (and then dropping Atlas and causing mass devastation on a global scale)

and then volume 8 makes it worse - the shields go down and Monstra gets parked on Atlas. the plan was dead right there, she's already on the goddamn rock my dude - if you lift the rock now then she's still going to be on it and you will die even faster than you were already going to; like even after Oscar blew up Monstra and Salem was reforming, The Coward in Chief wasn't making any effort to scrape her off the side of Atlas before leaving, he just went back to making threats (which included the baffling logic of "Penny, unless you give yourself up now, i am going to blow up Mantle, and then you won't have any reason to not do what i say anymore anyway" as if Penny wouldn't have justifiable reason to decapitate him for doing that)

'the great general Ironwood' who grew up and came into power in peace time - strategically unsound, incapable of taking criticism and dumber than a bag of hammers

what a hero

#RWBY #if there's a lesson to be learned from this #it's that Jimmy's a dumbass #couldn't be trusted with a bag of cupcakes let alone a kingdom

[kustas]

I'd love to hear your hashtag wha critical thoughts about recent developments if you feel like sharing them :)

I'll preface this with saying that for this answer I will not be making a distinction between my personal tastes and what is "objectively worst". The TLDR is I have felt like WHA's been dipping in quality since book 8 approximately.

One of WHA's strong points is its ongoing theme of accessibility, via its premise of how magic is purposefully restricted from people, and via its characters, mostly the kids, who showcase various life issues and allow the story to talk about how to solve them. Disability is an important one and was at the center of book 8, which is one of my favorites. You get to see Tartah and Coco work together for a goal (=making their friend a better mobility aid), and by doing so they brainstorm the why and then how which allows for complex notions to be carried out and explained to the reader. Cute story with touching implications that flows well. This quote in particular sums up so well what WHA is "about"

After this we transition rather brutally to the latest ongoing arc of the Silver Eve. This arc has been ongoing for years now, and three volumes, making it the longest so far, I'll come back to that, putting a star on it [*]. It delves further into aspects of accessibility the series had talked about before - access to magic, access to healthcare, and poverty. This is where this blog's namesake gets relevant. Custas is a kid who was already poor, who got badly wounded ending up disabled, and who because of that was stuck in a situation with no good endings: he can't make money in his state and needs money to get out of his state. On top of this gets added magic, and comes back the question at the center of WHA: Is it wrong to restrict the use of magic, and how?

After the arc is kickstarted by Custas getting his share of spilled beans of magical secrets revealed, enter immediatly strong players via ch.48's introduction of the Wise Ones and the king himself. The political aspect of how the world works was not mentioned before. Great chapter, interesting stuff all around, personally answered much of my questions. Immediatly after this chapter the focus in 49 fully switches to the Knights and their job, and the rest of the chapter is dedicated to a story of a sexual assault survivor and how she made it. It's a surprising topic to see pop up and it's handled with the respect it deserves. Chapter 50 goes back to Coco and her troubles. This concludes book 9 and...it makes for a Lot of stuff to deal with. Put a Second star on that. [**]

Addressing those stars before we move on:

[*] This arc is taking forever. WHA's arcs in earlier volumes only took a few chapters. This arc has taken three books thus far and I doubt we have reach its climax yet. I personally don't like it and it raises an issue the series did not have before: Will the payoff be worth it? Where it is worrying for the future of the series is that manga serialized regularly tend to up the stakes progressively until the end and it might...not work out.

[**] Too many things at once unresolved. This has already had consequences with the progressive vanishing of something WHA was once excellent at: sneakily introducing elements that get used a few arcs later in important ways. The manga has been, for a while now, accumulating unfinished plot threads via not answering the questions it opens and instead adding more and more characters. Jumping from a group of characters to another was not an issue beforehand because unlike this arc's, chapters took place at different times and/or in totally different places. The Silver Eve is both set in time AND place, making it hard to follow because all sideplot happen at once.

Book 10 continues to accumulate ongoing unresolved plots with: the royal family being shady, Agott's struggles irt. her mother, Dagda running around confused and tracked by the Knights, Custas and Ininia jumping Tartah and Coco, and Galga's accident + relationship.

Book 11 does the same adding Agott's crush on Coco, the actual festival, Jujy's inner troubles...Funnily enough, this page is a good summary of the ongoing mess.

Instead of solving all of this stuff we instead get stakes ramped up to 100 with the introduction of what I can only describe as a kaiju attack. As much as I love the horror and drama element, given what was already going on, this does NOT strike me as a good decision.

Now, we go back to the three latest chapters. These follow the same subplot: Custas' faction change and Coco's attempts to save him. This subplot has, to me, a whole lot of issues. Way earlier on in the story, even before Dagda's ambush, I had issues with how Custas was portrayed in relation to his anger, being drawn weirdly spooky for...a frustrated poor kid? Others have also pointed out it wasn't great to have one of your only dark skinned characters be a slum kid. Obviously given my handle on here, I am still a huge fan of the character. After chapter 45 (included), I already found it a bit tasteless to have so much horrors piled on him. WHA is a rather unsubtle series at time which I really, really dislike. Sure, makes it hard to miss the point, but when you're dealing with sensitive topics it can fall into touchy territory fast...

In the latest chapters, Coco appears to save Custas, the "how" part of her plan still being a mystery. Meanwhile, a timelooped and very confused Dagda looks for him, accompanied by Lulucy, who knows them both and is unaware of their ties with forbidden magic. She ends up telling him to abandon the faction he sided with by literally ripping off the brim of his hat with her magic. Meanwhile, Lulucy starts attacking him on sight. I have so, so so many issues with all of this.

Coco's story is about knowing the system in place sucks. Custas' story is about being screwed over by the same system. The story explicitly points those two out as mirrors: Custas is what would have happened to Coco without the right support. Coco's unique POV on the pointed hat witches shows us many prior times they are not the good guys. Hell, Custas himself talks about how the pointed hat's magical gatekeeping prevented him from living a better life.

To me, the point was supposed to be: the system in place doesn't work, which results in people in need not getting help. We loop back to the accessibility I started off mentioning. Yes, before the current system, bad things happened - but the current system is still allowing other bad things to happen now. So...why is Coco pushing Custas to join the pointed hats and abandon the faction he sided with? If a character who was upholding the status quo was doing so it would make sense (like Beldaruit) but Coco as a main character exists partially to point out why the pointed hats are not good. She demonstrates it to the reader via what happens to her AND knows it as a character. It comes off as inconsistent and frankly makes little sense.

Speaking of inconsistencies...why does Lulucy not recognize Custas, a child she's known for a while? Why does the young prince, introduced as a suspicious character on behalf of his family's unknown goals, become a helpful selfless little guy? Why are the Knights, originally introduced as an antagonistic faction because they are a milita enforcing the status quo, suddenly portrayed as fighting for good as a bunch of remarkable individuals?

Ah yes, the cops. I'm going to address something really fast about them. It makes me frankly uncomfortable the author chose their faction to evoke the two very sensitive topics of sexual assault and homophobia. I think the way those topics themselves were handled without greater context was surprisingly good, and it's touching in the first place to see an author who not only cares, but uses her series, destined partially for younger readers, to explain why she cares. However, Witch Hat is a very black and white series: the bad guys are bad and ugly and you should dislike them, the good guys are good and you should like them. There are some exceptions but who have been losing steam as of late. While originally introduced as a group of individuals who act in problematic ways for their day job, the Knights have slowly lost that bad guy flavor to become a fun band of colleagues/friends. They are law enforcers who enforce unjust laws, but it seems that the author's not on board with people hating them because this is the second time she gave a Knight a tragic backstory that makes them more sympathetic to the reader. First of: I do not see what's to redeem about them if the story's about changing an unjust system, so I don't get the necessity to make them nicer. Secondly: at least in my country (which has legal gay marriage and notably less sexist than Japan) law enforcement is renowned to not help sexual assault victims or gay people. The Knights Moralis are fantasy cops and cops, in real life, tend to abandon people who need their help regarding those two issues - if not worsen them, and count a majority of sexists/homophobes among their ranks. Making your unsubtly cop stand-in faction have both characters with those issues comes off as at least a poor decision if not bad taste.

(big words from the guys introduced in the story by arresting a bunch of children who were on a rescue mission for a misunderstanding they would not have cared about. Die idgaf)

Some more surface level things:

The art. The first books of WHA are noticeably more complex in their style featuring more reaslistic proportions for the characters. Latest arc has seen art lose some of the decorative "classic" flair in the linework and characters looking simpler and stylized to look way...Younger? In a way I do not like. Yes, it's expected for manga series to see their style evolve. I also want to make this clear: I consider the pace imposed on manga artists to be inhumane and if Shirahama had decided to draw her manga as stick figures to work less I'd be down for it.

The dialog. While WHA is very in your face (you may call it preachy) the dialog in the latest chapters especially Coco's feels off. A 12yo wouldn't give off speeches about the world in the heat of battle. When it's a calm scene between two characters discussing a deep thing, sure. When it's an epic public adult figure (see: Dean), sure. I'd prefer having the kids talk like kids.

Goddamn the story has become less nuanced and subtle over the time. Scenes like Qifrey getting confronted by Tartah post mindwiping his grandpa owned. The story's current "morally grey" moments just don't do it for me anymore. No, I don't want the witch politicians of the faction you established as a mistake beforehand to continue. I don't care if the fantasy cops are offended by a grieving husband pointing out they suck. I kinda wish he'd thrown hands actually

So...yeah, that's about it. While WHA's plot beats has always been impossible for me to predict, I don't know if I can trust where the story is going anymore. The fans eating it up confuse me and I might even get hate for posting this. Truth is, while some aspects have always been more or less present in the series since the start, I've felt like the really good bits that balanced it out have been going extinct. I don't know why and it's none of my business to. Some friends have pointed out we might be reaching a point where the author ran out of pre-written story and is now improvising. What's a bit concerning to me is I've also noticed she's way less active on social media, where she used to post regular bonus material for the series, this has stopped and I hope it's not because she lost her interest for the series or way worst, is overworked. Given the conditions for mangaka it wouldn't be impossible and like previously stated, I am of the opinion that no comic book series is worth putting their author's life, health and free time down. It's more important than me disliking the comic.

And regarding Custas - him joining the atelier to study with Qifrey would not be a good ending, no matter what the fandom says. It won't be cute found family. Custas has a family who's unique member wouldn't be able to follow him as a witch. That ending would separate a very traumatized child from the only adult he has in his life that gives him unconditional love and support. Custas needs to not be seen as a criminal so the rest of his life won't be over, and also a whole bunch of cash.

I'm not excited for the anime.

#ask #witch hat atelier #this took me like DAYS to type sorry