#best parental units in remnant

[rachetmath]

Jaune More MC Ruby?

Ruby: That’s why I’m the MC and you're the side character.

Jaune: So because you have silver eyes you’re special?

Ruby: Yep.

Jaune: Even though I cheated Beacon.

Ruby: Yep.

Jaune: I was bullied.

Ruby: Yep.

Jaune: My partner is dead. And because I let my guard down, Ozpin died, and Oscar had no choice but to come on this journey. You know,  because of me.

Ruby: Yep.

Jaune: And because Cinder, who works under Salem killed my partner, I have beef with the main villain and her whole crew.

Ruby: Yeah.

Jaune: Salem, who I have way more in common with than most people, the deemed goddess I’m defying her, just like she did with the brothers over a loved one's death. Are you following me so far?

Ruby: … Yeah…

Jaune: Hazel, who mind you, lost his sister. He lost his sister because of the world Ozpin had created, like I did, with Pyrrha.

Qrow: She had a choice.

Jaune: A few days' choice which turned into minutes when Beacon was attacked. Then discovering how bad the situation is, you know with Salem being immortal, I almost hurt if not killed Oscar, making me at the spur of the moment,  just as bad as Hazel. And mind you I was willing to fight you on that.

Ruby: Uh… yeah…

Jaune: Tyrian, has the opposite to my semblance. Wasn’t he more interested in me than you? And you were his target.

Ruby: Mmhmm.

Jaune: Let’s talk about Cinder again. Cinder had two stray kids who followed her. I have Ren and Nora. Neither have parents. Also, we both want power but for different reasons. We even have different views on destiny.

Ruby: Oh damn.

Jaune: Atlas. Oscar did Ironwood not act like how I did in Argus but worse?

Oscar: Yeah he did. Jaune even saw Salem in person before you did.

Yang: So did we. You saw her face to face.

Oscar: I’m Ozpin. What is that supposed to mean?

Ruby: Oscar, not helping.

Jaune: Neo. We both lost our partners. The difference is that I have friends while she has none. The cat, him, and I almost have the same ability except he manipulates your soul or takes it. He might as well have been a devil version of me.

Weiss: O. Dear lord.

Jaune: Watts. … … … You know what no. He-he was no. Like he could have done better, he’s an example of being smart yet making the dumbest choices. 

Weiss: True.

In the Twilight

Watts: What?! My decision was understandable.

Ironwood: No. No, they were not.

Penny: Like you could have logically put your two weeks in and left for another kingdom. Or country. Like Vale. Mistral. Anywhere. You could have helped where you could've been needed. Which would have made you better than my father.

Watts: I wasted my life.

Back to Remnant 

Ruby: Um….

Jaune: You know what I have to ask this question. What is the moral of the story and how does your character fit into this?

Ruby: Well my-

Jaune: Let me retort. I lied. I was bullied. I had no idea about anything in the hunting world. I needed a teacher. I lost someone important to me. I have beef with the main villains. I train to get stronger to be of use to others.

Ruby: So?

Jaune: Okay. No one believed in me. But I still went to chase my goal. I lost the best thing in my life. I still moved forward. I had to kill someone. Still moved forward. I’m an old man trapped in a boy's body. Still moving forward. Fighting the odds that are stacked against me. I have seven who no one knows about. Yet your family is more interesting.

Ruby: Your point?

Jaune: The moral of the story is that no matter your circumstance you can always be better. Never allow destiny or grief to influence your entire life. No matter what odds that stand before you,  you can ultimately change your fate. And no matter the darkness a simple soul can light up the night and unite everyone against a greater evil. Even when the whole world is against you, you are never alone to endure it. If we stand united and look past our differences only then the wor;d would be a better place.

Ruby: Well my mom died at Salem’s hands.

Jaune: And?

Ruby: It's still relevant.

Jaune: You're right. But how many times has your mother been mentioned and you bothered to get information about her?

Yang: I-

Jaune: Bitch shut the fuck up. You were looking for the deadbeat mom more than the mom who stepped up.

Ruby: Well um… um…. Damn. Oh, but I-

Jaune: You weren’t the sword. I may not have known Penny as long as you, but the fact, that I could've saved her proved her death hit harder than Pyrrha's. I’m close to walking in Raven’s path.

Ruby: Shit.

Jaune: And back to your mother. She was a silver-eyed warrior. But Salem is still here. Do silver eyes work on her?

Ruby: Um.

Jaune: Because Salem is still both the brothers' creation. The old humanity. She can't be phased by the black liquid even though everything they touch decays. 

Ruby: She's immortal.

Jaune: Yeah but again when Maria told you her story didn't she try using her silver eyes on humans and it didn't work? 

Ruby: Cinder.

Jaune: Grimm arm.

Ruby: The hound. 

Blake: Silver-eyed person too but only stunned them.

Ruby: Blake.

Blake: What a minute he had animalistic ears. Should I be concerned for my people?

Jaune: Yeah… we’re not getting into that. The point is if you go see Salem and your silver eyes don't work then your mom died for nothing.

Ruby: Oo. Um…

Jaune: And let's get back to the other villains. Besides Emerald, Mercury, and Tyrian, some of them have valid reasons to join Salem. 

Ren: Jaune!

Jaune: Ren, your village got destroyed.

Ren: Nevermind.

Me: Hold up. Let me start. With Cinder, a huntsman saw what she was going through and didn't bother to help her. She was alone. The world abandoned her.  

Jaune: So Hazel was right. In fact, Raven had a point.

Oscar(Ozpin): Mr. Arc I-

Jaune: Motherfucker Hazel had every right to be angry. Dude shadow missions involve us going with experienced hunters. Yet his sister died and Ruby could’ve died. Shadowing them. Following their lead. Does that not show how bad the hunting system is? Not just that we got hunters who died in the line of duty. Not to mention how some were sexually harassing the girls.  And some of them are just plain crazy or assholes. Not to mention Blake, Qrow, and Raven. You let them in. And to make matters worse you chose Pyrrha, a first-year student, to be your maiden.

Oscar(Ozpin): She was my best option. 

Jaune: So Glynda wasn't on the table? A high-ranked fourth-year student wasn't on the table? Man, at least you could have chosen Ruby considering she has silver eyes and is a young upcoming prodigy. That would have made her more important. Like Ozpin Ruby off the bat was better than Pyrrha.

Qrow: Hey, I would have stopped that.

Jaune: O, so… it was okay with Pyrrha… but not your niece. I see. Hypocrite.

Qrow: Damn. Set myself up for that.

Jaune: Watts, despite his stupidity, had a point. James would abuse any source of technology just to have some level of control over something. Why did you think he wanted your sister instead of Penny? Why do you think he wanted Amity up as quickly as possible? Why do you think he hacked into Penny? Everything was always about control.

Weiss: Well our lives weren't easy.

Jaune: That I won't deny. Yet we are all still bad people.

Yang: Jaune my mother -

Jaune: Raven and Summer left you. Summer no one cared enough to talk about. Raven doesn't matter at all. Willow waited until her children were teenagers or young adults to start dealing with an abusive father. And Kali… yeah she should have slapped some sense into her daughter. 

Weiss: Well your mom doesn't love you.

Jaune: Don't care. Back to Jacque though how does he and James know each other? Why do they have beef with one another? Unless… o. Oh no. Don't tell me. Did James set Jacque up with Willow? And in return, he helps James rise to power. Or did James love Willow but because of his career he couldn't marry her? Could Winter be-

Weiss: Please stop. I do not need those theories in my head.

Jaune: Fine. The point I'm trying to make is… … well how about you explain.

Me: It's crazy how Jaune fits the main character role better than Ruby.

#rwby #jaune arc #ruby rose #yang xiao long #weiss schnee #lie ren #nora valkyrie #blake belladonna #penny polendina #cinder fall #hazel rainart #rwby salem #tyrian callows #emerald sustrai #mercury black #rwby watts #pyrrha nikos #raven branwen #qrow branwen #rwby neopolitan #rwby curious cat

[what-the-heck-is-rwby]

I lived, bitches

God damn how does this keep happening. When was the last liveblog? Freaking APRIL??? College is kicking my ass to put it lightly

But I'm back, and I should be back for a while. You won't know this, but instead of doing like a quarter of an episode every other week, I've been stockpiling all my reactions to post all at once!

A little recap, for me mostly, when we last left off Qrow gave RNJR the mother of all lore dumps. There were two gods, Brothers, one light and one dark, and they created the world, the Grimm, and humanity. They also made four "Relics" that can be united infinity stone style to do wild stuff

Oh yeah and his Semblance is literally bad luck. Because of course it is.

Blake had a heartfelt conversation with her dad, it was super cute. He reassured her that he and Kali don't hate her and are in fact incredibly proud of her. Because the Belladonnas are actually the best parents on Remnant

Sun burst in all Sun-like, Blake yelled at him, and then it turned out a White Fang person was spying on them. Blake and Sun gave chase and that's where we left them

We left RNJR with finding out that Qrow is freaking poisoned?? From Tyrian?? AND HE JUST SAID NOTHING ABOUT IT WHILE LOREDUMPING AT THEM???

sigh

But yeah, let's do this thing!

Volume 4 Chapter 9: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back. Me thinks they're gonna make some progress, but not as much as they want

#rwby #rwby liveblog #liveblog #rwby e09v04

[applesfrombanora]

Alright I saw a post talking about the Sephiroth and Nero with Vincent being a parental unit thing and this has taken over my brain for the past day bc this is an opinion I’ve held for a long time ANYWAY

I’m gonna start this off by saying I have never been a fan of the Vincent being Sephiroth’s father theory—I’ve seen some good arguments made for it, but overall it just ain’t my cup of tea (to each their own of course)

In my mind, it takes from the significance of Sephiroth’s character and Vincent’s story

I doubt I need to go into much depth over Sephiroth considering the amount of people who have already done so, but his character in my mind has always been so tragic because of his blood ties to Hojo— the audience knowing that he was born to be an experiment and that his own father was the one forcing him through that again and again for the entirety of his life

I also like how it rips away Vincent’s connection to Lucrecia and makes Hojo essentially go “you don’t have her, and you don’t get to have a remnant of her, and I control the narrative now” because ultimately they both made him suffer and Sephiroth is a living reminder of that, making him worth enough of Vincent’s pain without the blood tie

Overall, I think making Vincent the father of Sephiroth just makes the story boring— kind of like the whole “Rey is a Palpatine” deal everyone was up in arms over

There’s more significance in seeing brilliant characters spawned from something other than some other great hero character— significance doesn’t always have to breed significance, but evil breeding something trying to escape that cycle? That’s fresh

HOWEVER

I do think that the theory of Vincent being Nero’s father is much more impactful in terms of narrative significance

Vincent was made what he is by the science his father was involved in, and Nero was born of an experiment based on one of Grimoire’s abstracts (as @getvalentined pointed out) for something he never got to see put in motion— in that sense it would create a trickling down effect in terms of responsibility for suffering as Grimoire and Lucrecia’s work created Vincent, and then Grimoire’s theory combined with Vincent’s DNA and Hojo’s willingness to do unethical science bore Nero

It does also give some more significance to the fact that Nero and Vincent are the only two to survive the dark mako treatments, making the Valentine bloodline the one that seems most able to fight off the ghosts (I say this as a joke but it does hold some truth)

(Here’s where my love of Shakespearean tragedy comes into play) I also love how it makes the final showdown in Dirge more impactful as well as Vincent fought Nero multiple times and as Chaos is born of tainted lifestream and Nero was given his power by that same corrupt lifestream, so symbolically, Nero is born of Vincent’s own internal monsters

How beautiful and poetic is it that the horrors Vincent fought so hard within himself ultimately consumed his next of kin? (should Nero be such, of course)

Even better that neither of them would ever know

Also they look related

Again this a “to each their own” type thing but idk I’m an avid tragedy enjoyer and I do think this is the course that best supports the most viably tragic option

#vincent valentine #nero the sable #sephiroth #ffvii #hope this makes sense

[historia-vitae-magistras]

Matthew inducing Gilberts PTSD is a funny concept but does everyone not take the absolute piss out of him for getting scared of a relatively newborn nation? Especially considering how long he's been a soldier for. I do enjoy Matthew as a sort of ghost-like almost folkloric creature of trench warfare but still Gilberts been around for some time. What is it about Matthew in particular thats so traumatizing to him? I mean... doesn't Gilbert predate the concept of war crimes even? What does Matthew do that Gilbert doesn't think to do first?

That's part of why it's so funny. This fucking toddler hunted him for sport and was constantly and successfully dispatched against the best units the German army had and consistently won. Matt has parents, his siblings and his uncles to work to consistently keep him fresh and in the forward lines, knowing he has good support behind him and when on the Western Front, Gilbert only had Ludwig. So I think it felt like constant, unending pressure did more damage than Matt did personally. Human beings tend to be less able to cope with long consistent trauma than single brutal events. But that said, it doesn't really hold up lmao even with the below from Shook Troops: Canadians Fighting the Great War.

This whole shitpost headcanon made way more sense in its original context, which was way back when I first got into HWS. I was writing a huge arc about Gilbert's post-German reunification rehabilitation arc where he was struggling with pretty severe PTSD across the board without the steadying effect of being a nation anymore and went to counselling because it was so ridiculous Matt gave him the shakes he admitted he had a problem. It's just the funny remnant of a much larger story.

#the ask box || probis pateo #gilbert || from this baltic cannonball #matthew || my country is winter #meatsack mechanics || the sociology and biology of nations

[fanfictionroxs]

A little analysis on who is the bigger meow meow between Black and Wei Wuxian. All blame goes to this post by @bl-bracket for making me go nuts and write all this 😅 Here we go:

On one hand, Black was betrayed by his own friend and was injured heavily and entered a freaking coma because of said betrayal. On the other hand, Wei Wuxian was dead for 13 years because he was betrayed and killed by his own brother. But since Black has taken his revenge on Todd (and confessed hehehheh) and he still has his brother, things are looking better for him. Because Wei Wuxian has Lan Wangji, but he'll never be able to reconcile with Jiang Cheng since he murdered A-Yuan's entire family. And when that shit hits the fan (and it will because no way in HELL will Sizhui let the murderers get away with this injustice), even Lan Wangji might have to leave his brother and sect since they're all responsible for the slaughter. Or they might both lose their son.

Now back to Black.. his troubles aren't over yet of course because even though Todd might be the love of his life/best friend, he's still a bad guy who stands on the unethical side. It's going to bring major troubles in Black's life and there's a bit of a parallel there with ToddBlack and WangXian since there was a time when Lan Wangji was on the wrong side. Yes, he didn't actively hurt the Wen remnants or Wei Ying, but silence/inaction of a good man is worse than being outright evil and stuff. Wei Wuxian refused to join the wrong side and Black is the same. No relationship can shake their morals (god damnit I love them both so much for this), so Todd will either have to do a Lan Wangji and join Black in walking the single plank road or they'll remain separated forever.

But one very important thing is that Black has White and for both of them that's enough. They complete each other in a way that Todd and Sean never will be able to do for them, though of course those two have a very high place in their respective twin's heart. Another thing is that Black never yearned for parental validation (and if he ever did then his mother did a good job destroying those feelings) while Wei Wuxian was always in control of his so called 'mother'. Both Black and Wei Wuxian were victims of emotional abuse by their mothers especially, but Black was able to move on from it while it still effects Wei Wuxian probably because he never got the unconditional support from his brother that Black got from White. They were like a team united against their parents' abuse since childhood and sure codependancy and stuff, but still it provided them an emotional security that made breaking away from their parents much easier even when the brothers were apart from each other.

Yeah so I'll have to give this round to Wei Wuxian. He's definitely the bigger meow meow 😢

#not me black #wei wuxian #wei ying #analysis #mdzs #not me the series #the untamed #toddblack #wangxian #seanwhite #ayuan #not me white #not me todd #not me sean #lan wangji #sizhui #lan zhan #jiang Cheng #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #thai bl #thai drama #asianlgbtqdramas #cdramas #danmei

[tubby1]

USA Tour

My thoughts after travelling the United States extensively

INTRODUCTION-

I have been to the United States several times before this trip, but in 2023 and 2024 I really went in depth and reached some of the more rural areas, the ones not many tourists/non locals visit.

I am a graffiti writer/urban explorer, although not a traditional one. The 2 main things I do while I travel the US are 1- paint hidden areas under bridges/tunnels 2- walk around/skate around downtown areas. While most writers like to stay around the big cities, I prefer to visit the smaller towns/rural areas.

Because of these 2 activities I partake in, I visit a lot of random places that normally other people would not visit simply because they are generally just boring places to your average individual.

As well as this, I stand out as an obvious outsider, being non-white and having an Australian accent, it often strikes up conversation with the locals from the small towns.

While I am painting/seeking out hidden areas, I often run into homeless people/remnants of campsites in these places. I always try to be friendly and say hello to people, so sometimes I strike up conversations where people talk to me about their living situation and how they ended up there.

The main question I always get asked by people is “Why are you travelling here of all places?” My answer to this is the same as why I travel anywhere. I just enjoy being in new places, and seeing both the good and bad of the world. It’s important to see the bad to appreciate the good. 

And make no mistake, I am very grateful for the situation I was born in and the advantage I was given in life. After travelling to many different countries, I am aware of the advantage I was given simply because of where I was born.

My hometown of Sydney, Australia, as of 2023, was ranked as the 4th best city to live in the entire world. Not a single American city ranks highly on the list, and for good reason.

Ever since I was 16, I endeavoured to make a living online through internet marketing, at a time where the average joe making a living online wasn’t really heard of, compared to these days where there are plenty of kids who can make a living online doing something simple like streaming video games.

But make no mistake, I am also extremely grateful that I was able to waste many months online, making pennies before I was able to make a sustainable living. I had my parents supporting me and a safe place to live until then. If I was born in a less advantaged place, I could be already working in a sweatshop before I became a teenager, I could be in a war torn country fearing for my life daily, with no electricity, let alone access to the internet.

I will write more about the global situation and the geopolitical issues I have seen, but for now, the purpose of this write up is to write about the socio-economic issues I have observed in the United States.

The main points I will be covering are

How travelling from state to state feels like travelling from country to country

The deteriorating downtown areas in much of the rural US, while the corporations and strip malls(stroads) grow larger and larger.

How the homeless problem in the US differs from any other country I have been to

How many Americans I have spoken to from rural areas have not only no/warped understanding of how other countries are, they do not even know much about life in cities like NYC, Chicago etc besides only being a few hours drive away.

How Americans seem to become more fiercely political the more rural you go, and how they argue politics where it’s completely unrelated.

The large amount of propaganda Americans are subjected to, on the billboards/radio etc, and how it differs when you go from the city to the country.

How Americans accept a lot of things as ‘normal’, when it would not be considered normal in any other country

How the United States remains an economic superpower with a large influence over the world, especially via Hollywood TV/Films, but the vast majority of the US, is absolutely nothing like many people think, with so many people living in poverty.

Let's take into consideration 3 huge American corporations and how they impact the people and community. Amazon, Walmart and Dollar General.

Amazon

While Australia also has Amazon, it is nowhere near as widespread as it is in the US. No matter where I have been in America, I always see the Amazon delivery trucks as well as the Amazon boxes outside people’s houses and businesses. 

In Africa, if you want a cheap everyday item like a phone case, you go out and buy one from a vendor on the street.

In the US, if you want a phone case, you can order it off Amazon for a few dollars with free express shipping, free returns and it will be at your doorstep before you know it. 

Now while this is great if you want cheap items, you also need to think about how it is impossible for small businesses to compete with this giant. You cannot undercut Amazon, simply because you would not be making any profit. They even have their own shipping courier, which is unheard of in other countries. Because of how highly it is used and ranks in search results, some smaller businesses resort to selling their products on Amazon and giving them a cut of their profits.

I believe Amazon is a key reason why shopping malls in America are dying, as well as why so many stores in different downtown areas around the country remain abandoned/vacant.

Walmart 

Walmart is the all-encompassing megastore which is in every major town in the USA. These days you can go out to eat at Subway for lunch, go to the optometrist, go grocery shopping, go buy some childrens toys, go to the bank to get a loan, go buy some hardware and tools, get your car fixed, all in the same building known as Walmart. In Australia, I would have to go to several different stores, and spend several more hours running the same errands. However, convenience comes at a cost. Walmart is able to effectively put many different local places out of business, and not just the retail sector. One Walmart I visited even had a medical centre inside, although this is something I only saw once.

Also take into consideration this-

When Walmart moves into a small town and wipes out all the smaller businesses by undercutting prices, they also eliminate a large amount of jobs. So the people who were paying $5 instead of $10 for a meal, this can come full circle when they lose their job and end up working at Walmart and getting paid less.

Walmarts do not exist in downtown areas, they exist usually on something known as a stroad, an exit off the highway, and are usually located near fast food chains, and other big box corporate stores. They effectively remove business from the heart of the town and move it to this new car-centric area. The big chains band together, and this exit off the highway becomes the new epicentre and one stop shop, killing off the downtown area.

Dollar General

I underestimated the power of Dollar General until I really went deep and visited the very rural areas. This chain exists in towns so small that they do not have a Walmart. I have spoken to several people who do not even regularly go to the grocery store, instead they survive off fast food and the cheap processed food selection that Dollar General has.

This corporation is also responsible for ending a lot of smaller businesses.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How Americans are fiercely political and divided

I have never been to a single other country on the globe where its citizens are so political, and this is observed every day when I was travelling throughout it. There are always huge flags, banners, bumper stickers, and signs everywhere. It is common when I strike up conversations with people that they start diverting and talking about politics when it has no relevance to the conversation. This phenomena can also be observed online, the amount of times I’ve seen Americans arguing about politics online in the comments of completely unrelated YouTube videos, among other things, is absurd. 

For many people, this truly is the most important part of their personality.

I do not have much interest in speaking about American politics, so I will not elaborate too much on this section. All I will say is that people should realise there are bigger issues to worry about, and the rich and powerful rely on this division of its citizens to pit them against each other.

While driving I would sometimes listen to the radio as well as observe billboards, which don’t really make sense to me. For example, I don’t quite understand why so many people are always discussing gay/trans rights, when, unless you belong to that demographic, it really should not affect your everyday life regardless how you feel about that topic.

I have noticed in poorer communities, people tend to be more politically inclined, compared to the city, and they think the political parties are the only thing which can save/deteriorate their town.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oblivious to the outside world

Most Americans I have met do not have too much knowledge of the outside world, and are shocked when I tell them about things in America which do not occur in other places. 

For example, going to a restaurant and paying the price of the food only rather than paying the ‘server’ is mind boggling to some. Going to the doctor/hospital and not showing any sort of ID or anything, just getting free treatment is something that doesn’t make sense to many Americans.

The prison system, the school system, the way Americans are all taxed, many just believe this to be the norm and can’t imagine anything else.

Americans are assigned a ‘social security number’ at birth and set to live, work and die.

Travelling state to state, or country to country?

Painting graffiti in different states feels like painting different countries. I paint mostly underneath bridges and tunnels. This requires me to park the van in a place that may be seen as unusual. In a very populous place like California, maybe no one bats an eyelid if they see someone park and then walk under a bridge with a backpack. In a very rural state like West Virginia, this could be quite the opposite. Several times I would park the van, and start walking, and people would come out of their houses to question me, to follow me secretly, to say I couldn’t park there (regardless of actual legality), etc…

I realised I had to try and be a lot more cautious in these more rural states if I was to avoid trouble, so I resorted to not ever parking near people’s houses and forgoing certain spots if I felt it was just too rural and my presence walking around would draw too much attention. What state/town I was in would drastically affect my attitude for graffiti/stickers. In a big city, I would generally feel comfortable walking/climbing around and painting/putting up stickers if I was visible by the public as I was usually quick about it. In the smaller towns I was far more cautious, as even just putting up stickers in front of pedestrians could cause some issues.

A place like NYC does reflect what I envisioned and exactly what I expected, from what I’ve seen on television/movies. I would see lots of people riding bikes around, commuting to work, lots of small corner stores, lots of people out and about, parks full, people playing basketball, whatever you normally see in a big city etc etc….

A place like rural West Virginia/Arkansas is completely different, you rarely see people walking around or outside, the downtown areas look completely abandoned, and if you see people hanging around downtown they are likely homeless. 

Another example I have to consider, is when I spent some time travelling through somewhere such as California, is most people I observed with relatively ‘normal looking’, but going to rural states, most people are obese as well as the amount of ‘morbidly obese’ is so high, it would be easy to guess if you are in an urban area or a rural area just by looking at the people walking around Walmart.

A person from NYC going to a rural town in upstate NY would be a culture shock despite being only a few hours drive away, and vice versa.

The lack of public restrooms, and why

There is a huge lack of public restrooms in the US, as well as the ones you see in places like parks are often just locked without any valid reason or signage. So much so that I generally don’t even try opening the door to most public restrooms I see, I just assume they will be locked.

The few public restrooms you see open are usually small with only one stall, very dirty, out of toilet paper etc…

In the cities, many businesses will have signs saying their restrooms are broken, not for customers or have a numerical lock on the door.

Now let's look at ‘rest areas’ on the interstate. I’m going to be honest here, these places are usually superb, very clean and very nice. While driving long distances, I often look forward to these places, to break up the drive, use the restroom, fill up my water bottles at the refill stations, and sometimes just sit and chill in a very clean, air conditioned area.

What’s the difference with the restrooms here and in the city? One caters to vehicular traffic and one caters to pedestrian traffic.

Skateboarding’s link to observing economic disparity.

One of my favorite ways to wander around a new city and explore is to ride my skateboard. While skateboarding is illegal on the sidewalks in many places, this is where I normally like to ride, and after riding through a few cities, there is something I have noticed.

In the poorer suburbs, the sidewalks are basically unrideable. I basically spend a lot of time just carrying my board as the sidewalk is full of cracks/weeds and completely unrideable.

In the wealthier suburbs, the sidewalks can be exceptional to ride. Smooth, wide and very well maintained.

It is the same city though. Just certain areas the city cares about, and certain areas they do not. 

The quality of sidewalks is not something that many people notice, but as a skateboarder, it is something I have observed everywhere I went. It is one small detail out of many.

Los Angeles - rich get rich, poor get poorer

I have always wanted to go to Los Angeles since I was a kid. It’s Hollywood, y’know? LA is a big place, and the areas within it are very different. I have wandered around the train tracks and LA rivers around downtown and it’s pretty lawless to say the least. Completely covered in trash, full of homeless, and some spots I did not paint because of the hostile people living there.

I remember a particular stretch of tracks downtown, walking through giant piles of stolen bikes being parted out, and seeing masked people rob a freight train as it parked up momentarily. I have observed chaotic scenes similar to this before in poorer countries, but it’s not really what tourists think of when they think of ‘Hollywood’.

Not too far of a drive away from this chaos, what do you have? The rich celebrities, the gated mansions and wealthy neighbourhoods of Beverly Hills, Calabasas etc… 

Conversations with homeless

Painting graffiti in America, I always run into homeless people. Sometimes they keep to themselves, sometimes they want to talk. 

Sometimes they ask me for money and I offer to buy them food instead. Most of the time they will decline, but something they will take me up on my offer so I strike up a conversation as I walk with them to the nearest food place/grocery store.

I ask where they are from and how they got into that situation. Some people say something simple like they lost their ID, and then had trouble acquiring a new one, and then their life gradually declined into homelessness. Many people had a bad childhood. Sometimes I meet people that enjoy living under a bridge. Sometimes I see families and children, just trying to survive and get through the winter… 

The fact that I paint graffiti and enjoy exploring lets me see the kind of places the homeless seek out. I am merely a traveller, a tourist passing through and painting something for fun. For them, that bridge covered in excrement and trash is their home… 

It is true that a lot of homelessness is associated with drugs/alcohol addiction. I have met many people who are obviously high and incoherent and other times I meet regular people though. I treat everyone the same, regardless of whether they appear to be wealthy or poor.

Some of the worst people I’ve met in life were the wealthy, entitled ones. Some of the kindest people I’ve met were the unhoused ones with next to nothing.

Some people are in that situation because of their own bad decisions. Some people were taken advantage of and dealt a bad hand in the game of life. Many people suffer from bad mental illnesses, and are left untreated and unhoused.

I remember these people I crossed paths with that I could not help. I remember being in a small town, saying hello to someone under a bridge and opting to start a friendly conversation before realising that they had schizophrenia. They started rambling to me and talking to people that were not there, and I listened to it all as I took my time to paint a piece. I normally paint quickly, but sometimes I opt to do a piece and paint longer if there are people who I feel are enjoying talking to me at the spot.

I remember reading discarded journals under bridges, of people writing about their lives. I remember people telling me about their goals and dreams, I remember the hope in their voices as they described where they wanted to get there in life, and I knew the chances of them achieving their dreams were next to nothing.

I remember meeting people who were living amongst a pile consisting of just random objects they collected of no use to them, they were obviously hoarding and had a mental illness.

Maybe when you have so little to your name and no one to support you, having a bunch of random items around you makes you feel okay.

No one chooses where they were born and what situation they were born in. We shouldn’t try and divide ourselves. We are all humans moulded from the same clay.

We laugh, we cry.

We get excited, we get angry.

We love, we grieve.

We are all one race, the human race.

#tubby graffiti #tubby1 #tubby1 sticker

[rwbyazre]

What about the Happy Huntresses’ backstories?

The Happy Huntresses don't exist as it does in canon, as Robyn is the Mayor of Mantle in AZRE instead of a Huntress that turned to politics.

The others are fellow politicians to play on the Merry Men taking from the rich (Atlas) and giving it to the poor (Mantle).

Robyn

As of the current time (80MTP), Robyn is 32 years old.

Robyn was born in Mantle, and actually lived on the same street as Clover. Both were best friends very quickly, growing up together, and carried on even when they decided to go down different life paths. Clover went into the Academy and Robyn actually got into the University of Atlas on a scholarship, set up by Counciller Lillith to bridge the education gap between Atlas and Mantle.

She got engaged to Clover when he was eighteen and she was twenty, in 68MTP, but Atlesian law prevents Huntsmen students from marrying until they graduate and requires permission from the General. As soon as he graduated from Atlas, Ironwood gave him permission to marry Robyn in 71MTP.

However, their marriage was void to begin with because Robyn is a Faunus, and that's when the cracks started to form. Robyn couldn't understand Clover's support as a Huntsman to Atlas, especially with the increased sanctions on Mantle following more protests over pay.

When Robyn became mayor in 73, she found that the Atlesian council were trying to veto her election due to being a Faunus, and then used her recently discovered pregnancy of Wren as further evidence that she was incapable of working during and after as she would be expected to care for Wren, especially since Clover was working in the Ace Ops at this time.

Robyn fought against this bigoted law, and with the sudden approval of May Marigold, a fellow politician that was focuing more and more on Mantle, Robyn managed to keep her position even after the birth of Wren in 74.

But that was the end of her marriage to Clover. They divorced the next year, and both moved on to their current relationships with Ironwood and May.

Robyn became far more aggressive in her pursuit for equality, and in 76, she managed to put through a motion to reexamine the anti-miscegenation laws. As more and more pressure were put on the council by fellow politicians and citizens, they finally overturned it and Robyn married May that autumn.

However, this ended up causing even more controversy in Atlas, and tensions grew to the point of the 87 riots, named after the 87 politicans that stepped down following the riots. While the destruction took a while to recover from, Robyn was there every step of the way for Mantle, further improving her image for Mantle while earning the fear and anger of Atlas for her ability to inspire others to stand up for themselves.

May

As of the current time (80MTP), May is 35 years old.

May Marigold, on the other hand, was born in Atlas to the Marigold family. She was an only child, but grew up with her cousin Henry Marigold for her entire childhood.

She hated him, hated the way her parents tried to instill their crueltry and superiority onto her. The Marigolds were old blue bloods, being there since the creation of Mantle itself, and rose in power so that they were given entry to Atlas when it was first raised from the ground.

As May got older, she started to see more of the corruption in Atlas, but the beauty and history behind it. She went into politics so that she could see Atlas and Mantle unite, moving past their dark hisotry and actually fix their image to the rest of Remnant. However, when she was accepted into the University of Atlas, her family started fighting more and more against her chosen path.

Over the five years of university, May became more and more bitter over the backlash she was facing, and in the final year, she and her family had a massive argument that ended in May being disowned and disinherited. May never looked back as she got her degree and made her way down to Mantle to help them instead, finally coming out as trans as she changed her name.

She joined the mayor's party, becoming the ministry of public health. She stayed in the party even after Robyn won and became Mayor, replacing the previous one who retired.

Same as Robyn's background, May was there giving her support, using old connections in Atlas that weren't burnt so that Robyn wasn't cheated out of her win. Because of her support and passion for uniting Atlas and improving the lives of everyone, Robyn started to fall in love with her, same with May since they had very similar interests and even hobbies.

So, following the overturn of Atlas' anti-miscengenation laws, they got married and have remained happily so eversince. May's family tried to speak out against it, despite having disowned her for years at this point, but they were ignored.

Joanna

At the current time (80MTP), Joanna is 47 years old.

Joanna is the eldest of the Happy Huntresses and currently the Minister of Mining and Quarrying. She was born as Jacaranda Everestt, and had been a miner since early childhood, having worked in the mines with her mother and grandmother following the death of her father from Dust Lung at just four years old.

She was never able to recieve a formal education due to cuts to the education system, and laws surrounding the separation of the mining caste and the rest of Mantle. While most in the caste are Faunus, others who were convicted had them and their families thrown into the mines to work off the social debt. Joanna's great grandfather was convicted of desertion during the Colour War, and as such his entire bloodline were sentenced with him.

However, Joanna escaped from the mine at thirteen and formed a new identity with the help of the Mantle Underground, adopting the name Joanna Greenleaf.

With her new identity, she was finally able to attend school, making her way all the way to university where she graduated with honors. Now able to whatever she wanted, she decided to return to Mantle and become the Minister of Mining and Quarrying, so that she could work towards overturning the archaic laws separating the mining caste from the rest of Atlas.

When Robyn became Mayor, Joanna saw the effort she was putting in and decided to support her, becoming long friends with Robyn that's lasted to this day.

Fiona

As of the current time (80), Fiona is 22 years old.

Fiona is the youngest politician in Robyn's party, and is the ministry of pensions and work schemes. As a Faunus just like Robyn, Fiona's childhood was difficult and she struggled to get far due to the culture and laws preventing people like her from doing much.

However, she was inspired by Robyn's spirit and determination after witnessing the controvery in 74, and as soon as she turned 17, immediately went and found Robyn to see if there was anything she could do to help her and Mantle.

Surprised by Fiona's direct attitude and initiative, Robyn decided to get Fiona on the same scholarship to university that she got, allowing Fiona to earn her education and return when she graduated at 22. With her smarts and compassion, Fiona won the position of Pensions and Workschemes on Joanna's advice, which Fiona repaid by starting the fight to include pension schemes for the mining caste of Mantle, including Joanna's family.

#rwby #azre #robyn hill #may marigold #joanna greenleaf #fiona thyme #lore #answered #luke.txt

[theowesterling]

♛ → WESTERLANDS presents LORD THEOMORE WESTERLING, the MASTER OF LAWS of THE CRAG. when the dragons danced in the sky they thought the GREENS would still fly, but in the blink of an eye, they would all die. the THIRTY TWO year old MALE who was PROTECTIVE & WELL-MEANING before they saw the first of the flames, is now TEMPRAMENTAL & UNSURE after seeing the last. through the ash, now they struggle to find MIDNIGHT RIDES ON HORSEBACK, THE SWEET SMELL OF SEAGRASS, and THE CHEERING OF HIS SOLDIERS instead of the remnants of the war of succession. ( alp navruz )

theomore had always wanted to be viewed as the golden child in his father's eyes growing up. but he was always just a step behind his older brother. theo did his best with his studies but always seemed to fall behind his brother. he could hit a target with an arrow from a far distance but his brother would hit a bullseye perfectly. resentment boiled in the young boy as he tried to hard to be the bet. others saw his brother as a pinnacle of what a good son should be while theo saw the truth. his was arrogant and rude and cocky. he would do anything if it meant he could be the best. but his parents were blinded by their love to see the entitled child they were raising.

theo wanted to pour himself into his studies but he struggled to get the words down right. they all seemed to jumble on the page for him. instead he focused on his training for fighting. knowing at least he could excel in that.

soon the call of war whisked the two brother's away. his father was a high ranking general for the lannisters, always at the ruling lannister side to give advice where it was needed. he was more than proud to have his two sons there as well. for once theo felt a little more seen by the generals there and by the lannisters even if his father was still too focused on his brother.

fighting continued and theo started to get better and better. before long he began to move up in his ranks. as the war continued on, theo and his brother ended up being stationed in lannisport during the sack. many of the soldiers in his unit theo was in charge of leading were brutally killed. however, theo stood firm and defended what he could.

once the dust of battle settled, theo was lauded as a hero of the battle. he was the brave lord who took down as many invaders as he could while protecting the city's people. however, his brother was killed, and it quickly became clear he had abandoned his post to guard guinevere lannister. no one was longer talking of his brother but of the heroic actions theo had taken.

his father did not see the hero his son was. he only mourned for the loss of his oldest, despite the cowardly way he went out.

anger burned inside of theo but he had a war to focus on for now.

other battles raged on and fight after fight theo remained and more word spread of the young lord's actions. a young hero who's ability in a fight was deadly for his opponent

despite the greens losing, theo had come out of the fray as a war hero. someone who songs would be written about one day he was told. and yet there still was a fit of burning anger that moved within him. anger he wanted so desperately to control. because after all of this how could he still not be seen favorably by his father? what more could he do to win his approval?

after the war was done theo returned to casterly rock to serve the king of the westerlands. the lannisters had been a family who supported him. a family who raised him up as as a champion of the westerlands for what he did. he proudly took his place as lord commander of the kingsguard originally

when his father came to visit his new found confidence came crashing down. everything he achieved was dismissed by his father. he only could talk about the wonderful things his brother would have done if he had not been killed. an argument began between the two of them. that anger came back. he tried to push it down, push it away but his father would not stop.

he barely remembered what happened next. but he knew it was an accident. he never wanted to hurt his father. he never wanted to kill him. but now his father lay dead at his feet.

panic washed over tho as he realized what he done. he cried for hours before he was able to pull himself together. he had to protect himself now.

theo was able to stage the killing as an accidental death. and soon the westerlands mourned for the tragic, accidental death of the late great lord.

he played his part over the next coming weeks. he truly was the grieving son. he comforted his mother and young siblings as best as he could, knowing the truth of what he did.

theo lives with the regrets of his actions. he is viewed as a war hero by most and yet he feels like he is still a failure. there is more he can do, more he wants to achieve if he can keep his temper under control enough. if he is smart enough to play his cards right, he sees much greatness before him.

more recently he has stepped into the role of master of laws. seeing he is now the ruiling lord of the crag he knows he must settle down soon enough and start a family.

quick connections:

-his younger siblings, two sisters and a younger brother.

-past flings. thinking during the war there could have been one or two people that theo had a ~*~moment~*~ with when there wasn't a fight. but it would be something that both of them knew was not anything serious

-theo is in need of some friends, i think he would be close to people of the old way. but i also think anyone from the westerlands or allies could work as well!

-perhaps someone suspicious of him and what he did? could be something who admired his father and thinks theo had something to do with it

-someone theo saved during the war. either during the sack or any of the bigger battles that took place. i think it would be nice for him to reunite with someone he helped.

-anything else!! i am open to all sorts of things so come hit me up

#;;about

[the-remnants-of-hope]

Other Muses - 4

Maizono Sumire is the younger sister of Sayaka Maizono, and someone who is resourceful with what she's given. Though she's a bit tsundere toward those that don't know her well, she can be very kind and forgiving toward others, namely the most vulnerable: children, the elderly, the sick, the poor, and anyone else marginalized. She's extremely passionate about social issues and stay mostly by Hiroko Hagakure's and Taichi Fujisaki's sides, along with Yuta Asahina. She wants to bring her sister back and be with her caretaker again.

Makumoto Izamu is unavailable for asks and RP at this time.

Matsuda Yasuke is the ex-boyfriend of Junko Enoshima, herself, and the Ultimate Neurologist, and he works mainly with Miaya Gekkogahara in her attempts to rescue the Remnants and their children via analyzing their brains in order to find a cure for the despair brainwashing... a cure Ryota Mitarai is still refusing to prove.

Mitarai Ryota is a member of Future Foundation and the Ultimate Animator. He is known for being exceedingly tired... as well as the perpetrator behind Junko Enoshima's brainwashing video. Though he's completely traumatized by his experiences, lacking even more sleep due to it... and unwilling or unable to give out the information to reverse the despair brainwashing.

Mitsume Kokoro is the Ultimage Psychologist who travels with Emma Magorobi, her best friend, and their self-proclaimed "servant", Yuri Kagarin. She is mostly stoic, rarely ever showing true emotion, although when she does, it's incredibly eerie, and a stark contrast to her logical reasoning way of dealing with things.

Motherkuma is a human Monokuma unit who was built to be the caretaker of the child Monokuma units (nee Monokubs). She is sweet and motherly, although deadly in her own right, and was sometimes tasked with looking after the Vestiges Of Hope. Now, her task... and her childrens' tasks... are to track them down, and bring them back to their parents alive.

Monodam is a human Monokuma unit and a son of Motherkuma and Monokuma. Just desperately craving peace, he resents his abusive father greatly, as well as questioning why Junko Enoshima would even build him if he was going to be nothing more than just a glorified slave feared amongst the wasteland. Nevertheless, although he's tasked with locating the Vestiges Of Hope, he found it in him to empathize with them, deliberately throwing his mother and brothers off of their trail. The only one in on his plan is his sister, Monophanie. He deeply wishes he could befriend the Vestiges, but abandoned the idea, believing no one would ever want to be the friend of a Monokuma unit.

Monokid is a human Monokuma unit and a son of Motherkuma and Monokuma. He's loud, brash, and abrasive, and particularly enjoys the activity of bullying the weakest link, having a deep belief in social Darwinism, or "survival of the fittest". Due to this, he is more often than not at his younger brother, Monodam's throat and vice versa. However, unlike Monodam, he takes his job with pride, relishing in the fear he's able to instill in others.

Monokuma is the inspiration behind all units of the same name. He is the unofficial "son" or "servant" of Junko Enoshima, the "husband" of Motherkuma (although she hates his guts), and the father of the Monokubs: Monokid, Monosuke, Monotaro & Monophanie, Monodam, and Nanokuma, in that order. He is cruel and ruthless as they come, rarely straying from Junko's side, but when he does, he never returns without a new kill. Know that if you see him, it's already too late for you...

Monomi (formerly Usami) is a Future Foundation agent who was captured and turned into Monokuma's "little sister" by the cruel bear, himself. Though she maintains her positive, cheery disposition, often causing the Remnants, the Despair Sisters, or even Monokuma, himself, to cause her bodily harm, she never lets that keep her down, and she rises to instill hope into the Vestiges. She was the one who first persuaded the Vestiges to escape and end the Despairing Era, while she would be helping from inside the Despairs' base.

[writer59january13]

I dread the United States presidential 2024 outcome...

Whereby yours truly presages and doth abhor nothing short of an imminent civil war dwarfing insurrection on January 6, 2021 oddly enough even reducing ordinary decibels to a mute whisper madding crowd trumpeting cacophony of ˈthȯr drowning out sense and sensibility allowing, enabling, and providing golden opportunity for anarchy to run rampant one issuing, earthshaking, and booming as one collective soul with pride

against prejudice queercore amidst pandemonium of lawlessness voices at the forefront ear splitting din most all social media platforms buzzfeeding, jump/kickstarting, and twittering bigotry, gender inequity, and misogyny nevermore gender diversity celebrated reveling harmoniously think arranged marriage of Kokila and Kishore

parents (most likely deceased)

of Menil and Amit,

one former best high school buddy

with my youngest sister Shari Todd for most of her sixty three years an herbivore, and in most respects the antithesis of Eeyore, (a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey and friend of title character, Winnie-the-Pooh), the former would never stand a chance stayin alive during the reign of brontosaur, and other so called terrible lizards. Aforementioned fatalistic political forecast

would translate as absolute zero freedoms as entrusted with Declaration of Independence, and Constitution, which incendiary rhetoric already trumpeted courtesy Republican dictator wannabe, who will eviscerate

any and all social progressive policies would essentially leave a rump government devoid of recognizable Democratic polity. Lemme plagiarize myself and express sardonic wit alliteration with the letter "R," I gleefully, playfully, and zestfully transmit the following poem, the proto antagonist will nary even garner an obit

no dead giveaway signs only brave hearts pointing middle finger subtly signaling welcome to the black parade, the sole intermit where gewgaws (trolls) with orange hair sold. revealing Ronald Rump revisited. Regarding ridiculous rhymeless ruminative rhythm rankles readers. Repugnant racist Republican reviled - rickettsia re:itch ruler rapaciously ravaged revered reverential rubric radical ruthless renegade rapidly riotously rips rigged ramparts Refrains retaining remnant redolent regal, resplendent rafters riches rudely rupture rooted rectified rights ruckus ricochets revenant reign ratified rattlebrained rules roil reductionism. rumbustious rapscallions rollick; render ruinous ramifications rusty razor razing revenge rents reprisal. Rabid rectal rictus rotten rebrands re-calibrate. rambunctious revolutionaries rejoice. ruffians ride roughshod routing reigning royalty. Reiterate revetting robust recidivist rationality rides Rolls Royce relentlessly rendering rock ribbing. Riffraff raconteur raise reactionary response revisit rancorous restrictive redlined realigned rightward rivets Robocop ridiculously rubber-stamped reorganization recalcitrant reactors release rapture rash Russian roulette reconnaissance raconteurs rack rubles. Red room reflects Republican RNA. rap risible rheumy ratiocinated rug-rats revoke righteous refulgent repertory rapier robed robbers ransack reliquary resounding retaliation retaliatory redcoat regnum reformation rightly remembered Rudy robotically recoiling rapprochement Raison d'être rosily revered rifled relics raffled rookie raves ripe rackful rubenesque reliably ranked refulgent rotundity requisite requirement re: reappointment road-tested, roadworthy redeem reapportion routed role. Reprehensible reassignment rapidly recognizes response rife rampage removes respectability responsible roused restitution refuted risky resultant reconnoitering runaway railroad reverberates rivalry. Reflexive ramrod reaction reconfirms redoubling ridding revitalization reconfiguration realpolitik reinstates repudiation; Rebooting Roosevelt regime reconsidered. Requisition requires resilient reseeding republic regrettable riley roars remorseless ribbing rare recount restoring recondite renown reprobate Rapunzel.

Republican representatives rejoice reclaiming reins registering retarded romantic remains re: Rastafarian revered reliquary rests!

[shadowveileds]

Malakai Westmore's childhood were shrouded in tragedy following the untimely demise of his biological parents during his formative years. Left orphaned and adrift, Malakai and his older brother found themselves navigating the uncertainty of their youth from within the confines of an orphanage. It was within these somber walls that Malakai forged bonds with his two best friends, Savannah Jackson and PJ Simons. United by shared adversity, they became his emotional touchstones, anchoring him amidst life's many storms. In the absence of parental guidance, Malakai found solace and guidance in the unwavering support of his chosen family, drawing upon their collective wisdom and camaraderie to navigate the complexities of the lives that lay ahead of them. Amidst the challenges of finding permanent homes, the Westmore brothers, both shapeshifters, eventually found refuge under the roof of a strict household headed by two adoptive parents. Nestled within the confines of an old Victorian home, Malakai and his brother were thrust into the realm of strict discipline and unwavering control orchestrated by their adoptive mother. From the tender age of seven, Malakai's musical prowess, particularly his proficiency in the violin, became the focal point of his upbringing. Under the relentless tutelage of his adoptive mother, Malakai's talents were honed, his every endeavor meticulously scrutinized for perfection. Academic excellence was not merely encouraged but demanded, while extracurricular pursuits were meticulously curated to align with medal-worthy achievements. Thus, Malakai's upbringing became a crucible of pressure and expectation, shaping him under the weight of unyielding standards and parental ambition. Beneath the veneer of familial normalcy lay a shadowed realm of unsettling truths. Entrenched in a family consumed by controversial beliefs, Malakai and his siblings were steeped in the dogma of shapeshifter supremacy, indoctrinated to believe in their innate superiority. Cultivated under the guise of ancestral pride, their upbringing was marred by elitism and religious manipulation, a toxic blend of praise and coercion for their shapeshifter heritage. Adopted into this environment, Malakai and his siblings were unwitting participants in a cult-like ideology, subjected to a harrowing landscape of abuse, enforced seclusion, and psychological manipulation. The family's descent into the abyss of fanaticism reached its peak with the sudden passing of their adopted father, leaving their mother ensnared in the grip of catatonic schizophrenia. Bereft of her guiding presence, she became a haunting specter of her former self, lost to the ravages of mental trauma. In the wake of this tragedy, Malakai and his siblings grappled with the shattered remnants of this family, navigating a labyrinth of trauma and disillusionment in the wake of them both being shipped back to the orphanage. Amidst the chaos, Malakai found solace and guidance in his older brother, Savannah, and PJ, to which a steadfast source of support flowed in turbulent times. Their bond grew stronger when they all decided to run away from the orphanage when Malakai was eleven and he never saw his awful adoptive mother again. The four of them floated from state to state, either to make sure they didn't get caught and sent back, or for the fact that PJ tended to get into trouble. With his talented shapeshifter abilities, PJ was usually the one to use them when things got rough, Malakai's brother's abilities were the next resort, then Malakai and Savannah's was always the last because of their powers being so unpredictable and they were still learning to control them. They all bounced from homeless shelter to homeless shelter and state to state until Malakai was seventeen years old.

Amidst all of the turmoil, tragedy struck once more when Savannah's magic inadvertently harmed someone, attracting the attention of a relentless hunter. In the ensuing chaos, Malakai faced the brunt of the hunter's fury, his life extinguished in a flash of violence witnessed by his closest friends and brother. As his corporeal existence faded, Malakai found himself navigating the realms as a ghost, his shapeshifting abilities relinquished, replaced by newfound ethereal powers. Despite the veil of uncertainty shrouding his consciousness, an inexplicable pull drew him to Northknot, a sanctuary for supernatural beings. Embracing his existence as a ghost, Malakai settled into a new rhythm, finding solace in the ordinary routines of life in Northknot. Working at the local music shop, he began to weave himself into the fabric of the community. Yet, lingering questions loomed over his reunion with his beloved friends, PJ and Savannah. How would they reconcile his ethereal state with the memories of their shared past? As Malakai grappled with the complexities and confusion of his spectral existence, one thing remained clear: his unwavering commitment to his chosen family, bound by ties that transcended the mortal coil.

#bio: malakai westmore #chara: malakai westmore #death tw #abuse tw #brainwashing tw #religious trauma tw #cult tw

[mudaship39]

Enemies:

European demigod Lucas Bartholomew Chamberlain 

Lucas Bartholomew Chamberlain. He is a cishet male. He is white and non-native. He is European. Lucas was an attempt to Americanize and Earth centric himself as a politician of the Terran political system. He is able bodied, allistic, & neurotypical. He is 5′11”. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. He has a crew cut hair style. He has a lean and athletic body type. He is 160 pounds. He is Roman Catholic. 

He speaks Swedish, English, German, Arabic, Spanish, & French. He is conservative and alt right. He is upper class rich. He is an intergalactic scientist, inventor, & engineer. He has a masters in biomedical engineering and PHD in xeno biology. He went to college off planet to Ivy League University on the planet Titan. He played high school varsity baseball and men’s collegiate football. He comes from a super wealthy family that owns various iron and diamond mines and refineries across the galaxy. They mine asteroids and comets in space for space ore as well. The parents are still alive but both were only children. He is also an only child. He has holographic military tattoos of the Earth and Terran Dominion military as a Earth Space Marine Corps veteran. He has holographic military tattoos on his forearms. 

He is a former super soldier. He was an officer in the Earth and Terran Dominion military. He was a colonel. He is a scientist, inventor, & engineer. He built weapons and tech for the Earth and Terran Confederation. A lot of the superweapons the Earth and Terran Dominion used for their war crimes were built by him. Like the Star Crusher a weapon that doomed the entire Regulus System to be vaporized by a supernova. To show the universe the might of the Earth and Terran Dominion military. It is why the Sol Vega and Polaris System all surrendered overnight. After seeing only a tear in the fabric of space was left. The screams of billions wiped out in an act of intergalactic genocide can still be heard across space and time. He is an intergalactic politician. He is a politician who is a remnant of the Earth government and Terran Confederation government as a former senator of the Earth High Command representing the United States. 

He views humans as weak. He hates that he is half human. He joins the super soldier program for this reason. To get rid of what he deems as human weakness. It is why he marries Daphne, a superhuman with bionic enhancements and cybernetic implants. He is a former superhero. He has delusions of grandeur. He is a megalomaniac. He is a supervillain, antihero, & anti-villain whichever serves him best. He has no allegiance to anyone or anything but himself. This personality was made worse when he found out that he is a demigod. He is a metahuman with superhuman: strength, speed, durability, & intelligence. The queer and trans Asian Pasifika and Latine Native superhero Kana’i Makoa Latu/Ataahua Kamalani Latu is his archenemy and rival. He/she/they is his arch enemy as he/she/they and Joanna Jacobson exposed him for who he truly was. Lucas Bartholomew Chamberlain is a former disgraced member of the superhero conglomerate Sentinels. He uses his background as a scientist, inventor, & engineer. He/she/they are a metamorph, changeling, & shapeshifter as an alien hybrid and a water elemental as a demigod. He is a demigod child of a European goddess of death. He has power over fire and decaying things. Powers he used to his advantage when conquering planets for the settler colonizer regime. He also uses forbidden dark magic against him/her/them in their battles. When he uses the power of death his eyes blaze jade. When he uses the power of fire his hand burn crimson. He wears divine armor as a demigod. The divine armor has a long red gaudy and pretentious cape. His armor is red, black, & gold. He wears a black domino mask and green face mask. In his demigod form his short hair turns into a short dutch braid. 

Lucas as a former politician was the mastermind behind many of the actions of the Earth and the Terran Confederation. He used his power, influence, control, & power to hurt people. So many of the cruel actions that Earth and the Terran Confederation did with their colonialism, imperialism, neocolonialism, & occupation was passed by him as a politician behind the scenes. Lucas as an inventor, scientist, & engineer in the shadows built many of the weapons that Earth and the Terran Confederation used to maintain their hegemony and dominion. He was one of the leaders of the Forces of Evil. He left them when they no longer served his goals.

American Caucasian alien hybrid Charlotte Anderson

Charlotte Anderson one of the rivals enemies and foils of the Asian Pasifika and Afro Latine Native demigod and alien hybrid main character Kanai Makoa Latu/Attahua Kamalani Latu. Charlotte Anderson is a cishet female. She is an allistic neurotypical and able bodied. She is white non native and American Caucasian. She is a metahuman and superhuman. She is an alien hybrid. She is 6’3”. She has long and medium hairstyles of Dutch and French braids. She has hairstyles of medium and long ponytails. She has green eyes and a redhead. She is an atheist.  She has older and younger siblings.  

She is a democrat and white liberal. She speaks English, Chinese, French, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, German, & Arabic. She is old money. Her family comes from American, Earth, & Terran dominion and hegemony. She’s a former super soldier. She is a metahuman. She loves being an alien hybrid. She hates humans. She is distrusting of demigods. She went to the Ivy League in Mercury. She is a doctor and surgeon. She has bionic enhancements and cybernetic implants. She was the one who experimented on them as a metahuman and superhuman. She was the one who turned them into a super soldier. She was the one who ordered the metahuman and superhuman traffickers to take them as a demigod and alien hybrid child. She was the one who originally implanted the bionic and cybernetic implants into them.

[esonetwork]

'Validus-V' Book Review By Ron Fortier

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/validus-v-book-review-by-ron-fortier/

'Validus-V' Book Review By Ron Fortier

VALIDUS-V By Van Allen Plexico White Rocket Books 253 pgs

Giant robots battling each other and horrific giant monsters. Ah, the stuff of Japanese movies and American comics. And now a wonderful, action-packed novel by veteran sci-fi and pulp writer, Van Allen Plexico. This one truly has it all and this reviewer was entertained from the very first page to the last. Having followed Plexico’s writing career over the years, we weren’t the slightest bit surprised at the theme of this new book. If nothing else, Plexico has shown he will not be pigeonholed in any one genre.

We’ve applauded his superhero series, and gone ballistic over his crime thrillers. So again, no surprise when he takes us back to 1978 and a top-secret base in the Pacific Ocean where giant robots manufactured by an alien race are discovered. A scientist named Garen pieces together an incredible history of two powerful intergalactic empires, the good Ahlwhen, and the power-mad Xovaren. Using super science to battle each other across the galaxies, the Ahlwhen built the giant robots while the more barbaric Xovaren created massive organic monsters. One of the hundreds of planets they fought across centuries earlier was Earth and upon their departure, they left behind remnants of both these incredibly powerful entities.

David Okada is a high school student in Hawaii living with his maiden aunt, while his older brother John is a navy pilot whom he hasn’t seen in several years. Both were orphaned when their parents passed away. Our tale begins one day when out of the sky, a giant robot lands near David’s school, and out of the control “head” room appears John desperately seeking help. Something has infected his unit’s other three robots leaving John the sole “free” agent to battle them. When David comes aboard the robot machine, called Validus-V, he somehow links with it empathically and when John is wounded in battle with his former allies, it is David who takes command of a thirty-foot-tall battling machine. Only he remains to somehow save his brother, defeat the other three giant robots and solve the mystery behind their bizarre brainwashing.

This is Van Plexico at his best and the action is non-stop. Not cliché, but here is a fact. Combining all-out sci-fi thrills with likable characters, he puts forth elements that in the end come together to produce one of the finest books of the year. If you like top-notch writing, do not pass up “Validus-V.” As for this reviewer, we are so begging for a sequel Mr. Plexico. In the words of Jean Luc Picard, make it so.

#book review #Books #ESO Network #Giant Robots #Kiju #Ron Fortier #Sci-fi Adventure #Thrilling Adventure #Validus-V #Van Allen Plexico #White Rabbit #White Rocket Books

[magichcuse]

Before I post the concept art of Ozzie's family, I also want to take a moment to compare him to Patrick.

Both of them were forced into compulsory heterosexuality (though Oswald isn't as sure about his sexuality as Patrick is), had a loveless marriage, and felt as though they were struggling to hold onto the last remnants of family they had. However, they handled it in completely different ways.

Oswald technically has more of an immediate family than Patrick did (Patrick technically has more extended family because both of his parents had a crap ton of siblings but he's not close with any of them), though he also had more to lose? It's hard to say Oswald really lost Cassius when he hardly had him to begin with, though Delphine passed shortly after Oswald got married and he's estranged from his two siblings for reasons I'm saving for another post. Victoria is nowhere as accommodating/loving as Kathleen (she was more sympathetic towards Ozzie when the loss of his mother was fresh, knowing how it feels, but she remained emotionally distant from him) and two out of his three children are closer to their mother than they are with him. It doesn't help that he has complicated feelings about those two children for very different reasons. There were times where Oswald genuinely felt like Ebony was the only family he had left. Ozzie tried to maintain a stable family unit, but he never forced it. He could have easily used magic to make Victoria into the perfect wife/mother, but that would feel wrong to him. He's still haunted by the loss of his youngest sister and he couldn't knowingly take his wife's autonomy away. Victoria isn't too appreciative of this (she was looking forward to forgetting her family and happened to marry someone who was staunchly against it), but Ozzie is willing to accept that. He also tries to interact with his children on their own terms, never forcing himself into their lives but still trying to be as involved as he can with all of them. Even Aurelia gets time with Oswald—Ebony tends to sleep in on weekends because she stays up late, so Aurelia can have alone time with him on early mornings. Oswald is just trying to make the best of what he has.

Patrick, on the other hand, is more obsessed with having the perfect family. His childhood was more idealistic than Oswald's (Cassius wasn't a parent to him and as hard as Delphine tries as a mother, she often has too much on her shoulders and couldn't be as present as she wanted to be), so he's even more desperate to have that life back than he'd be if he never had that life to begin with. Barnaby and Maddeline aren't perfect by any means, but Patrick's nostalgia causes him to view his childhood with rose-colored glasses. Kathleen is a nuisance to him and Vivian is...complicated. I've made a bazillion posts about the Patrick/Vivian dynamic and I'm not sure if I really have something to add to that here. His efforts on creating the perfect family are mainly focused on Theo and Dedrick after his second marriage (since they're actually around full-time unlike his "traitor" of a daughter), though he still wants some level of control over Vivian. Patrick isn't willing to admit it, but he's trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and gets confused/frustrated when it won't go through.

#{behind the magic} | ooc #headcanons #《 sometimes i feel like i retread a lot of the same ground with these comparison posts 》 #《 but it's interesting to look at two characters side by side and see how differently they handle similar situations 》

[taconotatsujin]

Vol 8 Post-Hiatus Theory

I caught up with the first half of RWBY volume 8 recently after ignoring it since the frankly devastating end of volume 7 and figured I'd just put out some thoughts I had about where this might go.

The end of volume 7 had Ironwood really digging into his fairy tale allusion, albeit in a reversal of the source material (like Lionheart despite saying he wasn't anything like Lionheart lol), so I've been thinking a lot about the development of major characters in relation to their fairy tale inspiration. With only a little bit of hiatus left, I'd like to share my thoughts on Penny.

At the beginning of volume 8, Penny is grappling with trying to make a bunch of decisions for herself and coming into her own as a person, but gets interrupted by the whole hacking schtick. We know this is going to be a major point of the next half of the season, and I propose that a hacked Penny is going to eventually open the vault and, after some emotional scenes of Penny trying to fight it off, as one does in this trope, someone (I think Pietro with some consequences connected to the warning about his aura last season if the staff has restrictions like the lamp) is going to use the staff of creation to stop the hacking by turning android girl into human girl (just like the story *shocked pikachu face*).

I don't think this is a particularly original idea. One could even argue that the 'real girl' thing was already covered in Penny becoming a maiden in the first place and this is just overkill, but this scenario would be an interesting parallel to Ironwood's development at the end of volume 7.

Ironwood loses a limb ("take my hand~" I see you Hero lyrics) that later is replaced with metal and becomes essentially a military dictator. He no longer trusts others to make decisions, so he takes over and is willing to sacrifice any and everything to win including his morals. On the other hand, Penny's arc based on this theory would end the volume with her having to trust someone else to save her and losing the metal. However, the metal in this case is nothing as cliche as a symbol of a lack of trust or emotion, but is instead a metaphor for their relationship with their identities. Even though it's a gain vs loss of metal, they would both mean the same thing: a loss of identity, abstractly in Ironwood's case since he is giving up his beliefs for the slim chance of a pyrrhic *wink* victory and literally for Penny cause it's literally her body, as a consequence of two opposite approaches to trust.

Then 'what's the point?' you might say. You trust people, you get burned. You don't trust people, you also get burned. I would argue that is exactly the point. Trust is a heavy thing, as we know from Oz keeping secrets, but whether it fails or even succeeds ("fear that we might fail, fear that we'll succeed" - I really love this show's soundtracks) the important thing is how you deal with the fallout. This also extends to Ruby's decision to hide things from the Atlas crew all the way at the beginning of volume 7; if all this goes down (presumably with the giant whale being repelled somewhere in the background), the final volume of the Atlas arc (or maybe the first of the Vacuo arc cause I'm not too certain if this is going to be resolved with the current pacing) is probably going to have to grapple with the uncertainty of where do the heroes go from here after dealing with the crisis (the "succeed"-ing), how do they cope with the consequences (from a "fail" that we have yet to discover or simply the mistakes they made from the start), and exactly who will our characters be at the end of it all. We are looking at another round of character introspection similar to after Beacon, and Oz will be leading the pack since he's got a bit of a head start on the whole "my relationship with trust has come back to haunt me, what do?" to the point where he literally hits all these beats in his speech at the end of volume 7.

This theme could be applied in more detail with the other main characters in the midst of identity crises (Nora pls wake up soon) plus any possible Salem deserters planning to join the team *wink* *wink*, but I liked the idea of connecting this to Ironwood and Penny cause of the parallels and my theories for the rest of the volume. This overarching stuff still applies even if my theory is wrong since we still have examples of characters misplacing trust and thus putting into question their entire identity, eg. the new Ace-Ops (thanks Ren) re:Ironwood, but nothing as concrete and dripping in symbolism as the whole metal body parts metaphor reversal.

(I could go on and reconnect this to the imagery and the lyrics of the opening and more on the connections between the trust/fear/identity/consequences themes but this is becoming an essay and it may not even be halfway coherent lol)

Tldr: a post about Penny possibly becoming a real girl via magic staff and how it would fit the themes of the show from the perspective of Ironwood's descent to tragic antagonist

#rwby #penny polendina #james ironwood #pietro polendina #ozpin #get it? pyrrhic #it's just like beacon! #pyrrha had so many death flags #good times #overzealous analysis #hot take: rwby soundtracks >> rwby plot #in my heart that 'provide' for 'loved ones' line in Fear is for Pietro and Qrow #best parental units in remnant #ironwood > tin woodman > wood puppet > metal puppet > penny > #it fits! #i took those 'in this essay' hot takes and did an actual essay #am i winning? #if this is a mess please ignore i should be writing a thesis not theories #on that note i really dont want ironwood to die #live dammit and face the consequences of your actions #me @ every yakuza series antagonist as well

[xoxopandapanda]

InuKag Week: Day 4

Day 4: Hands

@inukag-week

Kagome stared down her youngest son, thoroughly irritated with his behavior and not impressed with his ability to stare her down right back. At four, he was barely up to her waist, but had enough attitude in him to not even cower at his mother’s glare.

“Hand it over.” She commanded the small child before her.

He spoke his favorite word. “No.”

“This isn’t up for debate, young man. Hand it over now.”

He shifted his feet a little and whatever was in his clutches made a terrifying squelching noise. Kagome internally winced and knew that whatever it was, it probably wasn’t going to be intact anymore.

“No.” Kagome frowned upon realizing he was going to stand his ground, come hell or high water. She could blame her husband for this trait, but she knew it also came from her.

Or so he claimed.

Crouching down to his level, Kagome got eye to eye with her boy. His eyes were the same color as his father’s and his dark black hair glistened in the sunlight. “Kenji. Hand it over to Mama now, please.”

“I have plans.”

“What kind of plans?” Kagome’s hand extended out expectantly. The command went unspoken this time.

Kenji shook his head violently, his soft, not quite all the way stiffen dog ears waggling. If she were so frustrated, Kagome would have picked him up and kissed him between them over how cute it all was.

Why did Inuyasha have to make such cute babies? It made it hard to discipline them.

“Boy plans.”

Kagome’s eyebrow shot clean up into her bangs. What did that even mean? “Well,” she asked, “Mama can know about boy plans.”

“No.”

That dang word all over again. Who allowed her children to learn that word?

“Well, can Papa know?” Inuyasha appeared behind their youngest boy, peering down at the top of both of their heads.

“No.”

“What, I thought it was a boy plan?”

“No.”

“No it’s not a boy plan?”

Inuyasha had learned in his many years as a father how to navigate the difficult questions that are brought about by children. Something his younger self wasn’t even remotely good at.

Before he could continue his interrogation of his littlest boy, the oldest boy, Shuichi, walked by, drawing the four-year old’s attention squarely on him. Before either of the parental units could react, Kenji, with all the force of his small arms, whipped whatever was in his hands directly at his oldest brother, nailing him in the side of the face.

Unfortunately, for all parties involved, Shuichi was carrying his two-year-old sister who was also impacted by the blast.

The squelch of the rotten peach, and the sound of maggots wiggling across cloth nearly made Kagome puke on the spot, but the sheer look of horror on Shuichi’s face as he turned to see who had impaled him with the offending fruit stopped her.

Well, that and the ear-piercing shriek of Suzume loosing it over the whole experience.

Kagome remembered Sango once telling her that the reason toddlers overreacted to everything is because everything is the worst thing that has happened to them so far. But in this instance, she had to agree with Suzume that this was a full-blown mental breakdown level offense to her sensibilities.

Kenji was quick to apologize, running over to his siblings, trying to soothe things over before his parents got involved – clearly forgetting that his parents had witnessed the whole thing.

“Kenji, why?” Shuichi cried out, trying to wipe the maggots and peach remnants off of his sister and himself as best as he could. “Where did you even find that thing?!”

“I’m sorry!” Kenji was now also having a mental breakdown, sobbing and crying just as uncontrollably as his little sister. “I’m sorry!”

Shuichi lifted his head up to the sky, and released a loud sigh. Kagome wasn’t expecting to see her oldest look so much like his father in that moment, but she supposed he had watched Inuyasha do the same thing for years. “Kenji, what possessed you to do that?”

“You didn’t spend the day with me! I was mad!” Kenji’s feet stomped, emphasizing how displeased he was with his brother. “It’s supposed to be brother day!”

Kenji’s head was patted by Inuyasha’s large hand, breaking off what could easily have become a full-blown yelling match between the boys, with the accompaniment of Suzume’s wails of displeasure. “Shuichi,” Inuyasha’s voice was firm and left no room for argument, “go clean you and your sister up. I will handle this.”

Shuichi tossed one last exasperated look at Kenji before leaving to clean up – and hopefully pacify – his sister.

As they were leaving, Inuyasha crouched down and lifted Kenji’s chin to look at him. “Kenji, that wasn’t very nice.”

Kenji sobbed his agreement? Argument? Kagome didn’t know at this point.

“Did you ask Shuichi to spend the day with you?”

“Yes!” His indignant response pulled at his parents’ heart strings.

Kagome walked over and also crouched down to look at her son. “I’m sorry that Shuichi didn’t spend the day with you, Kenji. That must have made you feel very bad.”

Kenji lifted his little hand – still covered in the juice and pulp of the overripe peach. Kagome tried to not look to see if there were maggot leftovers as well, but her mother’s brain couldn’t help but take in the whole sight and wince at how gross it was. And it was right next to his eyes and mouth.

Inuyasha also noticed his youngest hands, pulling them down to wipe them off on his sleeves. “You can’t be throwing rotten fruit at your brother because you feel bad. We have to use our words, buddy.”

Kenji sniffled louder and Kagome quickly jumped in to clarify. “Can you tell Shuichi how you feel when he gets back. I’m sure he didn’t mean to forget to spend the day with you.”

Kenji’s nose let out a long stream of snot, another decoration to Inuyasha’s sleeve. He nodded firmly, accepting his father’s cleaning of his face.

“Is there something special you want to do with Shuichi?” Inuyasha asked, indicating with a slight head tilt to Kagome to get water from the bucket to clean up the little toddler.

“Bug hunting.”

“Well, I’m sure Shuichi would love to go bug hunting with you when he gets back.” Inuyasha wiped off Kenji’s face with the damp cloth provided by his wife. “Use your words and ask him, okay?”

Kenji nodded again, waiting for Inuyasha to finish cleaning him up before asking for a hug from his father. Inuyasha readily agreed, picking up the small toddler before settling down by the door to wait for his oldest to come back.

True to his nature – which came from his mother – Shuichi listened to Kenji’s words after handing off Suzume to Kagome. As they boys left to go bug hunting, Kagome rested her head on Inuyasha’s shoulder and sighed. “Look what you’ve done.”

“What I’ve done?” Inuyasha took Suzume from his wife to snuggled her against his chest.

“Yeah,” Kagome wrapped her hands around his arm, cheekily looking up at him and smiling. “You have big hands so you made children that are handfuls that only you can handle.”

Inuyasha’s eyes rolled and he looked away from her. “Well, good thing you’ve got me and my big hands then.”

#inukag #inukag fic #inukag week #inukag fanfic #inukag ficlet #inuyasha #inuyasha fanfiction #inuyashaxkagome #inuyasha x kagome #panda writes #inukag week 2021