#nora does not handle horror well

[makahimetenshi]

Follow me inside the wastelands - Chapter 8  -Arthur Maxson x Female Sole Survivor Fanfic

This one will be a long fic with a lot of chapters, I already write the concepts. Since I don’t play as Nora in Fallout 4 because Nate for me is the real protagonist the personalities and ideas are pretty fanbased from another fanfics I read

If you are very very very delighted with one fic and want a continuation I didn’t write or post you can donate me at least $5 bucks, most of this fics have next chapters I don’t finish because lack of motivation but hey a $5 is a $5, I see a few reviews and coments that fics that are abandoned months laters receive coments of wanting to know what happends next. Here it is, I finished my handling with you all, enjoy the fic

Even as a elder Maxson would never try to be in the middle of a medical situation. Not even for Nora.

But he made his way to at least see her from far and it break his heart. It was easy for everyone to think she was unbreakeable but no one is, and despite how confident he was in her habilities…he will never stop worrying when she goes outside.

-The bufout is the only thing that keeps her heart working now–said Knight Cade walking near the other nurses that were giving her a transfusion, she lost many blood from the injury on the head.

-If she pass on pain we may loose her, should we give her some med-x? –said another knight, all a team was working over the sentinel.

-Isolated only, leave the chest out, we need to undress her to check on some other injuries, if the legs looks like this with the boots I don’t want to imagine the hips.

Arthur overheard from far. It was bad. He cant stop the anguish hole in his chest from growing.

The surgery will take hours and hours before a human being came out, she looked the same: motionless with the head half open but everybody swear to him that she was alive and he had to believe or explode.

-Elder you can go, once the paladins arrive they will report you what happened, we cannot loose a second here –said Knight Cade who just went out to take off his gloves and look for something in his drawers, something that very like looked like a drill and some nails-I can assure you if she survive we can save her legs. Unlike Proctor Ingram.

Maxson spine tremble and he nearly vomit at imagine Nora like that.

-She isn’t conscious but still alive right?

-Our main goal is to close her head, you don’t know how really close you are from a human brain until you see it, its already desinfected and higyenized

-I see her eyes open and her lids move –the knight stopped for a moment and looked at him.

-I can assure you that she is not feeling any pain now, she has nerveous responses yes but not full asleep…she is conscious, we have to keep her awake or we fear that she will enter in coma, this is a very traumatic surgery

-If she is awake and with senses of course its traumatic! –said Arthur, hours have passed since they started and she was still with the head open.

-We believe that if she falls asleep we may loose her, its preffered than we introduce the coma than she enters herself, if we control the doses once the surgery is done we can manage in some  time when the recovery is well going to even wake her up from the induced coma.

-How much time? –the possibility of loosing her in a coma make his heart ache but it was better than loose all hope now.

-3 weeks, minimum –the expression in his face change totally.

-That’s a lot –why does this wonderful woman always scape from his hands.

–we preffer the cuts on her legs and head to recover without interruptions, if we manage well the recovery we may wake her up when it seems appropriate –the knight see the face of horror of the elder and tries to compensate a bit- do not worry elder im sure other soldiers can match her efficiency too

-Its not about that! –nononono she wasn’t a machine or a tool it hadn’t anything to do with replacing her

-The sentinel does an incredible amount of job that other soldiers will try to adchieve in her leave for all her sacrifices without a doubt –Maxson raise a hand and cut the conversation, covering his face and sighting.

-Will she rest if we induce her a coma?

-Our intention is that shell wake up to start training with the leg bones fixed when we control the doses for the awakening –that was a relief, she will wake up and everything will be fine, no hash recovery, no pain, everything will be a bad dream.

That’s okay

-Alright, do it.

-To reassure you sir I can say something? –the elder looked at him with a very heavy weight over his shoulders –we are now 100% sure that she isn’t a synth at least

Arthur looked at him disgusted, and pushed him with a hand in the chest before going out the room.

-Terrible lack of taste for good jokes, knight

He first make a reunion with the patrol squad and heard their version of how the things happened. They all were scared, overexcited and with minor scratches, one had a broken arm only but it was already fixed with an arm cast. Arthur called an scribe to take notes and write a report of the experiences and stories from them.

When the paladins arrived they weren’t surprised that the elder itself received them to scold them to the command deck, the same scribe that was elaborating the reports was there, no one will change their version of the story after or make a appropriate change in the lines…

Truth is it was Noras fault, she knew or at least imagine how dangerous this mission was based on her experience and still trowed them all in the shack, Arthur wondered what the hell was she thinking, that something something would come and save them? To save them off troubles? That idea of getting inside a close cave with almost no vision when a family of Deathclaws was around…was so stupid… It was a miracle that no one died, and no matter how much it hurted and if for some moment he wished to find someone guilty…he cant. He had to be fair to both teams. Yes, apparently she needed to be the bait and executed the role but…it was her responsibility due the lack of options at being so cornered.

Getting inside was the initial problem, that no one stopped her was the first error but…she was a sentinel…no one can go against her…

She was paying her own mistakes.

Arthur dismissed everyone. No one was in trouble, no one will be punished, this wasn’t nobodys fault but the sentinel…In fact he had to congrats all of them for their achievements at defeating one Deathclaw and scaring away two. Hell had to make paperwork for all those fuckers and Nora was…in a bed…unconscious…for who knows how long…

It hurt him but it was part of his obligations and he cant run away from it, it hurt a lot that she was the one that put herself in this place and he cant…do anything about it just continue as the elder would do, congrat the paladins for saving the patrol squad life from a family of intelligent Deathclaws…he cant do anything for her, if it was a bad movement or if there was someone to blame for not protecting her enough but…she was the sentinel…she is under no one command or protection, if she was reckless is nobodys fault.

As an elder, he was obligued to not interfere. Just wish for a good recovery.

She was there but the Prydwen felt empty without the hope of seeing her walking around coming back from a job.

Before they induced her into a coma Arthur asked to be present, to hold her hand until her eyes closed by their own so shell be able to rest knowing that he was around, althought that may be too complicate to process for her in this state.

He almost cried in front of the knight and the nurses but he swallow his pride and tears saying to  himself that this wasn’t a goodbye, shell come back.

With all the expectations the elder have on the recovery of the sentinel…Knight Cade and his team of nursering couldn’t fail so they were doing the best as possible to fix her legs and the cuts for the surgery

Now nails and screws jointed the pieces of broken bones but it was okay, a standard procedure, broken bones were the speciality of the brotherhood, half of the soldiers have this type of surgery inside, the big problem wasn’t the bones or the jointures but the healing of the cuts, very large and ugly cuts all around the leg, in the worst case it can get infected and do that ugly fluorescent green pasta that smells horrible and starts eating the flesh around…even the bones! So the cicatrization was slow and hard to archive, but everyone have faith on how things were developing after all the was more healthy and sane than the rest of the crew, less exposure to radiation in the childhood.

The opening in her head…the big crack on her scalp…well that did need a lot of stiches and changes of plans, it wasn’t recovering well until a special type of string wasn’t being repeled and allow the skin to close properly, reading this progress on the reports was such a relief for Arthur, he let himself take air and breathe it out everytime he reread a news for the fifth time or more.

The teeths were something easy to replace and repair, but reality is that it wasn’t common to have a teeth procedure this days, once you lost it even the people with money didn’t do much about it but Arthur knew that she would be crushed to have her perfect smile ruined so he pocketed the dentist work himself…not exactly as a gift but…certainly it wasn’t going to be a procedure that the brotherhood will cover since it wasn’t considered important, mostly stetic, and weird.

The bruises and scratches will go away eventually, that was the least of his worries.

Now she only have to cure properly and wake up when… she was told…

4 weeks even passed and when it was time…she didn’t wake up. Arthur was there to see her eyes open and her conscious regain back…but she didn’t, now he did cry unable to stop himself and regain the composture in front of his soldiers, they were all stranged by this behavior in their stoic elder, the man tried to stop the tears to not be ashamed in front of everyone but he cant, they keep going and going down and…even his breath accelerated so much that he felt like needing medical attention.

A couple of nurses and even Knight Cade went to his side and try to stabilize him, that maybe today she wouldn’t wake up but they were going to keep trying different doses, that this was a coma not permanent death, that she may even wake up…nobody could understood why the elder was reacting like this over the sentinel who was always absent and off duty…But he took a good moments to stop crying and recompose, he didn’t say anything, not a clue to anybody, just cried when the news were told the episode definitely let the team confused.

Arthur went to his quarters and cancel all his dates for the week, he needed the time alone.

Week 5. At least that’s what he thought until an unexpected visitor came all the way from Sanctuary Hills to talk to him.

Preston Garvey in the doors of the Brotherhood of Steel looking for elder Maxson, at first the knight guards of the boston airport didn’t take him seriously, until he said he was the second man  in command besides sentinel Nora of the minutemens and…decided to elevate the request somehow higher…in the sky…when the response was positive they help the man to elevate to the skys and scold him where Maxson was waiting for him in the command deck.

-Mister Maxson, I guess sooner or later we were going to formally meet

-State your reasons civilian, the only reason the Brotherhood of Steel gave you this conference is because you summoned the name of the only Sentinel on this chapter

-Not a man of good manners doesn’t? –mumble Garvey taking a notebook out his pocket and handling it to Maxson, the elder looked at the little object with distrust- don’t worry, Nora warned me about this, you don’t have to act all thought with me –Arthur went of a stair and pick up the notebook-it doesn’t bite.

-What is this? –he looking at the pages with text.

-Don’t you recognize your sentinel handwriting? –the proper answer was no he didn’t recognize it since all the reports and communications were via terminals but he cant expose himself like that.

-I mean whats with the content? Why you needed to deliver it to me? –he would examine it later, the scribes has records of Nora handwriting to check on the validity of the notebook.

-It’s a backup plan –Arthur raised an eyebrow, and Preston sight turned down and dark –The general hasn’t reported in more than a month, she asked me to deliver this to you if anything happened to her…its normal…to be absent but im following her orders now, I hope she is okay

-She is –Arthur said without hesitation going a step down, closing the notebook, Preston raise  his head to look at him, looking stranged.

-Did she contact only the Brotherhood of Steel and not the Minutements? That couldn’t be –Arthur lip shaked for a second and he went down at his level, offering his hand, she may need this, maybe is someone close to her went to visit…

That didn’t have any logic but the man also have the right to knew, he was her friend and also officer somehow, it didn’t matter in which side

-Wanna see?

As weird as it was seeing elder Maxson walking besides a non brotherhood no one would dare to ask, less the nurses and personal around Noras room. They prepared both to enter to her room and…there she was.

A sleeping beauty.

-Oh Nora…-said Preston going a bit further than Maxson liked but still only looking, taking no more than a close look-she isn’t okay

-She is recovering…-Maxson hugged herself, he didn’t have the nuts to hold her hand- but we haven’t be able to wake her up from the induced coma.

Shit that didn’t sound good to Preston, absolutely negligence

-Welp she is going to take a lot of secrets to the other side… -something in that answer bother Arthur but at the same time give him curiosity.

-She isn’t going to die and what do you mean?

-Have any of you access her pip-boy? Everything is saved in there –what the hell with this guy, it was saying nonsense!

-What? No! she isn’t dead none of us is going to scrub on her things! We are at the waiting

-Alright –Preston said crossing his arms looking at her close eyes.

-What do you mean with alright? Secrets like what? –oh nonononono he enters nows in dangerous territory he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know her secrets without her awake to defend her honor…

-Do you know she has an entire vault for herself? The vault where her husband Nates body is frozen? Even Paladin Danse knew that –wow no, that was a big hit of information, at seeing Maxson perplex face he knew he messed up-oh damn you didn’t knew, well I don’t know the passwords or anything, that’s on her mind only…

-But what if she dies? Even for the minutemen a vault would be a great asset, it doesn’t have sense that you don’t have the access.

-That’s why the backup plan –Garvey pointed at the notebook in Arthurs hands and open it –its between pages 40 and 50…let me see…-both looked at the tip of the  pages were a ridiculous nice numbers were written in color gold-here there is, it basically says to ask the brotherhood to look for the body of the sentinel and once they recover it, give it to the minutemen, so they can take it to Goodneibord and the Memory Dean to recover all important data…she says something even about a fund to pay Nick Valentine for his services in the past and if he decides to help on this one

Arthur didn’t understand, why taking so much bothers…

-Is this –he pointed at the notebook, it says that Valentine will do the research in her mind, that he did it before and he will perform a good job getting all the necessary information for certains items dedicated in a chapter exclusive for him and this process-is this an holographic testament or something?

-No –Preston clasped his hands-is a backup plan

-But she talks about being dead here!

-Only on this pages, not all the notebook is about what she wants to give to others…pages 60-70 are about Hardware Town and how she wishes the relationship of the Minutemens and the Brotherhood to continue if she is not around, like an…statement…that actually seems urgent to revisit –both looked for that pages, when they reached it looked like and old pre-war legal document, very tidy and polished –she put a lot of effort in this one, I say that nobody will understand it since the law of the old America isn’t running right now but…she laught and say it was only a style of writing, to communicate things

Arthur place a hand over the pages, oh his lettered lawyer sentinel…he slurp saliva and looked at her. Still in coma, still sleeping.

-This is only a backup plan if she goes missing or dies only?

-Theres some pages where she talks about a method to access a big deposit of caps if for some reason she is unable  to localize…im the only one who knows about this notebook and this is the only copy that exist

-She is not dead and im not planning on letting her die –Arthur bite his lip on frustration and give the notebook back to Preston, but he wouldn’t pick it.

-Are you sure elder? Doesn’t look like any of us have much control to decide this –Maxson didn’t want the notebook, his pride didn’t let him process that he could loose her for some reason.

-She will wake up –he said using all the confidence hes been telling himself to have over this month.

-Just read the notebook, it has some interesting thoughts of Nora, reading it made me know her a bit more -he pushed the book away at the elder again- do I expect her to communicate with us or…someone will tell us about her state?

-The Brotherhood of Steel will keep in touch…ifs that’s the sentinel wish.

-Page 13 –he mumble and turn his hat down a moment- see you soon General, well be waiting for you at the castle –the woman was still indeed, sleeping- shall we go elder? Let her rest

Arthur hands tremble with the notebook on his hands, unsure if return it or keep it

-One last thing –Arthur stopped him on the way to the door –theres some…secret or anything I shouldn’t read here? To respect her privacy

Preston shake his head in denial, making Arthur sight in relief. Okay, he will read it.

Sneaking into her secrets was overstepping into her privacy like she wasn’t there anymore and he feared that thought with his whole soul.

-The general is too smart for that, there’s some pages that’s explain how to access that…information that frankly I don’t know what she hides but…most of them are post mortem, or in case of dissaparence, since she is here…I don’t think that’s necessary –Arthur nodded and went off the nursery with him, taking a quick look at her before leaving.

She will wake up and this book wouldn’t be necessary at all. If she wanted to tell him any secret, its going to be in person.

-Where are you heading sir? Let me offer you a ride on a ventibird.

-Alright, thanks elder

-No problem, Sentinel Nora would do it for you.

-As she does for everyone

Arthur read and reread that notebook over and over after some scribes tell him that the handwrited coincided with the one that Nora provided on the medical tests. It was like…hearing her talk…damn this was written before the problem with the ship in the south because she had big backup plans for that place, too bad they can’t be performed because the project didn’t go as planned.

There was some essays…some rules, wishes, proclamations, speeches…for the minutemens and the Brotherhood for separated, she take her roles for both very seriously and that break Arthur heart…she was such a dedicated and attentive person…

It wasn’t written like a diary, less written for him, it literally was an essay for the people. Directions and commands she believed it would work with the possibilities she had to make everyone’s life better.

Preston was right, it help him to better understand her in ways his heart wasn’t ready to know. She was perfect, everything a man should have and want, everything a man in his exact position needed, everything that all the people in the commonwealth needed from a person with power to change things

It was late in the night when  someone knocked loud and quick at this door, he didn’t know what kind of emergency will pull up the elder out of bed but…

-The sentinel is awake!

His heart dropped and his knees almost fail him, he could go out in underwear to see her beloved Noras eyes for the first time in so long but…he put on some slippers and his jacket, to keep composture in front of the other soldiers, besides being a man in love he was the elder.

Walking there he decided he didn’t care anymore, he wasn’t going to hide, not for him or for her, he cant after so long wishing to see her sane and sound, so close and so far in the zeppelin.

At getting inside the nursery she see him first, the nurses were performing an eye exam and her eyes catched from the distance the thing she wished to  see more. Arthur also see her all exited and happy, but the fact that she was being revised by a nurse make him wait a little, her health first, her well being first…when the nurse step back from the eye exam with the light he enter the room and hug her while still being sitted in the gurney, her after seven weeks long nails dug in the coat and he felt it but it didn’t care, and he didn’t care that everyone was watching this was innapropiate behavior but he didn’t care

-I never loose the hope that you will wake up one day –her face hide in his warm neck enjoying the hug, it was necessary for her to reload energy, her whole body felt heavy and in pain but this was such a relief.

-I wanted to see you –oh god her voice right now sounded magical

-Soldiers please give us a few moments…ill came out when im done here… -despite everyone surprise for the fraternizing display of affection all of them obey the command, Arthur placed  a hand on the sentinels face and separate for a moment, using the other to tangle their hands.

A quick check, her eyes looked fine and gorgeous, her skin was a bit grease and her hair a bit messed up but…she was okay…Arthur kissed his nose for a second they both enjoyed.

-What did I miss? –she asked and he almost wanted to asfixiate her with the pillow.

-You are in so much trouble sentinel…-he said before sealing their lips with a chap and simple kiss.

Arthur chest feeled warm like he hand feel it in weeks, he was in his element right now.

He wanted her around.

 https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14242575/8/Follow-me-inside-the-wastelands

#elder maxson #arthur maxson #paladin danse #sole survivor #fallout 4 #makahimefanfic

[tacticalvalor]

«────── « ASK » ──────»

@thesoulofasurvivor SAID:

👻 - How does your muse handle feeling scared? Do they enjoy horror? Do they believe in the paranormal? What calms your muse down? Do they have any scary stories? (@ Nora Fleming!)

MISC. SYMBOL HEADCANONS || ACCEPTING

Nora is easily scared, which doesn't bode well all things considered, so she tends to get overwhelmed and freeze up if something particularly frightens her. She's also fairly superstitious in certain regards, and wouldn't question if there were something paranormal out there. What exactly? Who knows! Needless to say, horror media isn't for her (and much to her dismay, it is up her husband's alley).

What ultimately calms her down is being able to take a step back and ground herself. Looking over the environment to employ the 5-4-3-2-1 method, deep breathing, taking a short walk if the opportunity provides, and really just anything that lets her move herself around and realign herself with her senses.

She doesn't have any scary stories that really stick out to her as abnormal or of the paranormal variety. The scariest thing that happened to her, truthfully, was when Anchorage was invaded and Nora lost contact with her husband (who was on the frontlines, so yknow-)

#(headcanon) #(ask) #(m: nora fleming) #thesoulofasurvivor #( so sorry for a delay on these! )

[alwaysfirst]

Riteish Deshmukh, Tamannaah Bhatia-starrer 'Plan A Plan B' trailer out now

Sep 13, 2022 14:44 IST Mumbai (Maharashtra) , September 13 (AF): What happens when a woman who does the matchmaking, falls for a man who handles divorces? Can opposites attract? Well, to get the answers, you will have to wait until Riteish Deshmukh and Tamannaah Bhatia-starrer streams on Netflix, but for now, look at the fun trailer of their new film, unveiled on Tuesday. Taking to his Instagram handle, the 'Bahubali' actor treated fans with the trailer of her new show. Sharing the video, Tamannaah wrote, "Can these two complete opposites - a matchmaker & a divorce lawyer - look past their differences? Stream the quirkiest romance of the year, Plan A Plan B on 30th September, only on @netflix_in." 'Plan A Plan B' showcases the story of a wedding planner Nirali Vora (played by Tamanna Bhatia) and a divorce lawyer Kaustubh Choughale (played by Riteish) who falls in love despite having opposite opinion on love. The film is all about marriages, divorces, swipe rights and everything in between. Talking about the making of the film, Shashanka Ghosh shared, "In life, plans get made. Then something happens and the best-laid plans go haywire- and that's exactly how this unique story came to life. The script came to me from the writer Rajat Arora, and the moment I read it, I was instantly excited to work on this theme. Making Plan A Plan B with Riteish, Tamannaah and Poonam Ji has been such a fun experience and their infectious energy and chemistry have translated in every shot of the film. This film is a sweet romantic comedy that is lighthearted and fun and we hope Netflix audiences will enjoy it." Speaking about his experience of writing the film, Rajat Arora said, "Plan A Plan B is a quirky romance that will win your hearts. It is the classic story about 'do opposites attract' but is depicted in a spirited new way that we hope will be a solid entertainer. Shashanka's direction has brought a vivacious energy into the script and it has been a great journey making the film." Tamannaah Bhatia, playing the role of a matchmaker said, "This movie has been a wild ride. Whether it is working with Netflix, the entire cast, or being directed by Shashanka sir, Plan A Plan B has been a memorable journey. It is a dynamic movie that will appeal to every type of audience and I can't wait for its launch on Netflix!" Riteish Deshmukh also shared about his experience, "I have always had a soft corner for the comedy genre and Plan A Plan B was yet another memorable experience for me. It is important to work with a team that approaches this genre with a twist and makes it refreshing for the audiences and Plan A Plan B has definitely been one such project for me. We have made this film with a lot of love and we cannot wait for Netflix viewers around the world to enjoy it with us!" Starring Riteish Deshmukh, Tamannaah Bhatia, Poonam Dhillon and Kusha Kapila, 'Plan A Plan B' is produced by Rajat Arora (Funk Your Blues Entertainment Pvt Ltd), Trilok Malhotra and K R Harish (India Stories Media & Entertainment Pvt Ltd) and directed by Shashanka Ghosh. The film is set to stream on Netflix from September 30, 2022. Meanwhile, Riteish will also be seen in an upcoming horror comedy film 'Kakuda' alongside Sonakshi Sinha and Saqib Saleem. He also has 'Mr Mummy' a comedy film alongside Genelia Deshmukh and '100%' alongside John Abraham, Nora Fatehi and Shehnaaz Gill.' Tamannaah, on the other hand, will be next seen in Madhur Bhandarkar's next 'Babli Bouncer', which is all set to stream on Disney+ Hotstar on September 23, 2022. (AF) Read the full article

[rwbynordicwinterincorrectqoutes]

Weiss: Is that a centipede on your shirt? That’s what you went with?

Nora: Centipedes are agile and fierce, like us. You could say we are human centipedes.

Weiss: I told you not to use that term. You didn’t watch the movie, did you?

Nora: It was in the horror section Weiss!

#nora valkyrie #weiss schnee #nordic winter #weiss x nora #rwby #nora does not handle horror well #rwby incorrect qoutes #incorrect rwby qoutes

[howlingday]

tragic backstory (tm) au) jaune and his knights (nora's currently workshoping a name for them with the others and battle harem doesn't quite work for everyone for some reason) are handling some criminals for ozpin (he told her something about "making a statement" but nora lost intrest after he mentioned that she couldn't just go nuts on them and had to "obey the law" and "respect human rights" which is stupid because corpses don't have rights and that's all they're gonna be if they fight her!) but they quickly find out that it was a trap and as they all sit in their cells waiting for the end jaune saves the day by picking the locks and freeing them

nora: "... ya know I honestly forgot he could do that"

weiss: "IT WAS THE INCITING INCIDENT FOR THIS ENTIRE DEBACLE!"

nora: "yeah but like there's so many other cool things that I sort of forgot that he was a master criminal and not just a bandit king slash destined hero"

of course jaune knows a worrying amount about how criminals work what dark secret is he hiding?

jaune meanwhile is really trying to avoid letting his friends know that when he was in middle school he tried to impress girls by telling them he was a mafia boss and ended up becoming obsessed with researching how crime families did things in order to make the persona more believable.

corse that all fell apart when everyone realized there wasn't a crime family in their small farming village.

jaune: "no one must ever know the truth!" **slams his fist into the stone wall cracking it** jaune: "shit! i said that out loud!"

You Don' Wanna Know

Infinity. It is not the end, yet also not the beginning. It is neither the tail, nor the head. It is not a goal to reach, nor a point to start, but rather it is the flow in which we find ourselves both present and repeating.

Ruby: Jaune! We locked ourselves out of our room! Can you help us?

Jaune: Sure thing! Let me just grab my lock-pick set. (Steps into his dorm)

Yang: Lock-pick set? Why does he have a lock-pick set?

Nora: You know, I don't think I ever asked. It's kind of funny, because the last time he used it, I got curious and asked Professor Ozpin for his transcripts!

Weiss: Wait, you asked for his transcripts?

Nora: Mhm! It's how I started learning all about his past, like how he was a slave, a fighter, an orphan-

Weiss: WE'VE SPENT THE LAST TWO WEEKS GUESSING BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T KNOW HE CAN LOCK PICK?!

Nora: Well, when you say it like that, anything'll sound bad!

Weiss: AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!

Jaune: Everything okay, Weiss?

Weiss: YOU!

Jaune: Ah! (Cornered)

Weiss: YOU WILL TELL ME EVERYTHING, OR I WILL USE YOU FOR FENCING PRACTICE!

Jaune: Gah! Okay! Okay! I'm sorry I took so long! I forgot I hid my lock-pick set under my dirty magazines!

Weiss: WHAAAAAAAA-aaaaaaaaaaaaaa... (Cough, Rasps) my voice...

Jaune: Uh, you okay, Weiss?

Weiss: shut up, arc...

Jaune: Uh, I'll just get to work on the door. (Sets down lock-pick set)

Yang: So... Dirty magazine, huh?

Jaune: (Groans) I haven't even opened it yet. It's just a joke gift my sister got me for my birthday.

Yang: Heh, if you say so.

Jaune: Aaaaand got it! Door's open! (Bows) After you, ladies.

Weiss: (Rolls her eyes, Steps in) our hero...

Ruby: Where'd you learn to do this?

Jaune: ...the mob.

Ruby: The mob?

Jaune: ...Yeah. I learned to, uh, lock-pick to break my buddies out of jail!

Yang: Yeah, right. (Tousles his hair, Walks in) Maybe try that on somebody more gullible.

Blake: Like Nora. (Walks in)

Ruby: You mean it isn't true? (Walks in) What about him being enslaved by the Luna bandits?

Jaune: Huh?

Yang: That's actually true. (Door shuts)

Jaune: What?!

Adam: Brothers and Sisters of the White Fang, gather round! Tomorrow, during the Vytal Tournament finals, Beacon dies! Every human man, woman, and child will become fuel for our war, along with those of us who turned their backs and sympathise with the enemy! The Schnee Dust Company will watch in horror as their daughter is beaten and skewered before her family! The Belladonnas will know the indiscriminate fangs of our maw as our now enemy Blake is snatched and torn apart by them! And all of Remnant will know that no human is safe when I hold the head of JAUNE ARC, THE LIAR, IN MY HANDS FOR ALL OF MANKIND TO SEE! (White Fang cheer, Chanting Adam) Unfortunately, not all of us will be present. Last night, our Lieutenant has betrayed our cause, and has abandoned his mask. But worry not, for I have found a more than worthy replacement! Brothers and Sisters of the White Fang, I present to you your new Lieutenant, Tyrian Callows!

Tyrian: (Steps out)

Adam: Tyrian Callows is a scorpion Faunus, and believes in our cause to eradicate the humans, and force them to understand our pain. He is a skilled combatant, and master of toxicology. He is a brother, and I have my full faith in him and his abilities. (Hands Tyrian a White Fang mask) From this day forward, Tyrian Callows is a Brother of the White Fang!

Tyrian: (Chuckles as crowd cheer, Dons mask) The hunt begins...

???: The Raven approaches on Devil's rest. Perhaps good fortune awaits our kin?

Raven: Shut the hell up, you creep. Why are you moving so close to Vale? You know I can't protect you if you get caught.

???: The moon! (Prostrates away from the sun) The moon is rising, and with Ka Ra, she carries her champion!

Raven: Hey, listen to me when I'm talking to you! (Grabs him, Pulls him up) I've tolerated your existence because I had more use from you than those freaky Burns pricks, but if you think your god is more important than keeping your word, then I'm calling off this alliance, and leaving you to the Grimm.

???: (Falls to his knees, Weeping) Her champion! I see him flying! Falling! He will lose everything he loves, gain nothing but ash! He will be broken, and never whole!

Raven: Argh! I'm wasting my time with you! (Draws Omen) Tell me why you're going to Vale, or I sacrifice you to your god right here, right now.

???: (Weeps, Sobs)

Raven: Ugh. (Turns away)

???: (Chuckles, Laughs) Really, Branwen? So sensitive about your time, aren't you?

Raven: I am. (Turns around) Especially when it's wasted on a fanatic like you, Kaylum.

Kaylum: "A wasted effort, a wanted lesson."

Raven: I could care less about your scripture, old man.

Kaylum: And yet here you are, listening, and yet not understanding. Do you hear it? A great change is on the wind! It Carries with it an omen of things to come!

Raven: All I hear is a delusional old man talking to himself.

Kaylum: Only because you don't listen! The angels are warning us! Warning you! Your child is in danger!

Raven: The only thing I could care less about than your "prophecies" is my daughter.

Kaylum: (Chuckles) Oh, Raven... I never said it was your daughter.

Scarlet: (Humming in front of the mirror)

Roman: So, you're back from the dead? Mind telling me how the hell that happened?

Scarlet: Does it really matter? I'm clearly still alive.

Roman: Sure, you say you're my sister, but you can't prove-

Scarlet: When we went to the circus, the lion scared you so bad you pissed yourself until you were thirteen.

Roman: Nice try, toots, but it was actually fifteen! ...That sounded more proud in my head.

Scarlet: And that's why Daddy liked me better.

Roman: How is the old man, anyways?

Scarlet: Dead. After you left, he fell into drinking even more, and he drowned in the lake a year after that.

Roman: Did he drown on his own?

Scarlet: (Smiles)

Roman: Yikes. But can't say he didn't deserve it. He was a mean bastard anyways.

Scarlet: Yeah, and you left me with him. Thanks for that, by the way.

Roman: At least you found a nice, little bed-warmer, right?

Scarlet: Roman, Jaune Arc is nice.

Roman: ...And?

Scarlet: And what?

Roman: You just said Jaune Arc is nice.

Scarlet: I did, and he is.

Roman: Okay, I'm not nearly invested in your life enough to keep doing this "play nice" routine. What are you doing here?

Scarlet: I'm here to collect Jaune Arc for the Crown of Vacuo.

Roman: Uh-huh, and that is...?

Scarlet: An organization dedicated to restoring the royal Arturias family to the Kingdom of Vacuo.

Roman: Mom and Dad always worried about you falling in with the wrong crowd.

Scarlet: The Arturias family has more claim and right to rule than anyone else in Vacuo.

Roman: And what do they want with your hubby?

Scarlet: Isn't it obvious? (Turns to her brother) They intend to restore the Throne of Vale, with Jaune as it's king, and me as his queen!

Cinder: (Knocking) It's the middle of the night. (Answers the door) Oh, it's you. I was wondering where you ran off to.

Neo: (Pushes her way inside, Turns on the light)

Mercury: Rgh, dammit...

Emerald: (Yawns) Is there a problem, ma'am?

Neo: (Pulls out white board, Nods furiously)

Cinder: There is, but I can't tell if it's our wandering teammate, or her excuse that's the bigger problem. She'll just have to tell us.

Qrow: So, we're just going to give her Amber's power?

Ozpin: Yes, after we break her hold on the Grimm.

Qrow: I dunno, Oz. Giving away Amber's power to the same woman who tried to kill her to get them just doesn't sit tight with me.

Ozpin: I understand your concerns, Qrow, but an ally gained is another soul safe from Salem.

Qrow: Alright, I'll trust you again, Oz, even if this feels off.

Ozpin: Oh, come now, Qrow, what's the worst that could happen?

Qrow: Well, she could cause a catastrophe so horrible, Vale becomes ground zero for a Grimm invasion, killing thousands of innocents along with you.

Ozpin: Hm,yes, that is a possibility. But with Atlas providing protection, I fail to see how she can accomplish this.

Qrow: She could hack into the CCT, upload a virus, and knock it down while also havking into Atlas military software, causing James' robots to malfunction, or worse, go on a killing spree.

Ozpin: Well, now you're making things up.

Jacques: Is there any word on Jaune Arc, yet?

Whitely: Nothing yet, Father. The only information we can find are the articles and rumors that are already common knowledge.

Jacques: Damn him! He can't be this much of a ghost! There has to be something, like his Beacon transcripts! But when I asked that damn fool, Ozpin, he told me that his transcripts were confidential and that I couldn't just take them on a whim! Not even this Arc person can access his documents for some reason!

Whitely: What if someone could access his transcripts, and they currently have it in their possession?

Jacques: Hm, I suppose, but who would have access that isn't Ozpin?

Winter: Say it.

Glynda: No.

Winter: Say it.

Glynda: I'm not saying it.

Winter: Saying what?

Glynda: That my ship sunk before it could sail- DAMMIT!

Winter: (Laughs) Oh, Glyndie, you are too easy sometimes.

Glynda: As if your ship would fare any better.

Winter: Oh, but it can, and it will. You see, I've been gathering intel on your student, and I've crafted the perfect girl for him. Once again, Atlas wins with it's intellect.

Glynda: Impossible! You can't just make a girlfriend out of thin air!

Winter: No, (Holds up pink computer chip) but I can put the idea in her head.

#rwby #rwby au #tragic backstory (tm) au #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #jaune arc #nora valkyrie #adam taurus #tyrian callows #raven branwen #scarlet torchwick #roman torchwick #cinder fall #neopolitan #neo politan #emerald sustrai #mercury black #qrow branwen #ozpin #headmaster ozpin #professor ozpin #jacques schnee #whitely schnee #glynda goodwitch #winter schnee

[heliosthegriffin]

Pink and Yellow could kill a fellow

----

It was Friday night after dinner when Team FNKI offered to take out the others teams to some club in Mantle to relax after a week of hard work, the others naturally agreed.

Though, for some reason, Flynt Coal couldn’t help but notice the eagerness of one Lie Ren behind his normally cool face, to leave for the night, even if he hadn’t known the ninja well for very long, his concern for a fellow huntsman won him over and he made his way over to the Mistrialian resting in booth.

“Hey man, mind if I chill here?” Flynt asked the young man.

Ren gave a cool nod that if one hadn’t known him would look almost rude and dismissive.

“Cool cool, nice,” Flynt slid into the booth and faced the black haired-man. “Want anything off the menu? My treat.”

Flynt hit a button on the table activating some programing inside the advanced table, revealing two menus on a scroll like interface.

Ren looked over it thoughtfully for a second and pushed down two times on the menu, ordering a green tea and grilled chicken salad.

“Eating healthy, alright then, I’ll get this.” Flynt thought briefly about getting something terrible and junky for his body, but concerns for his figure won out. He picking some oysters and a vodka martini.

“Thank you,” Ren said politely, bowing his head slightly.

“It’s no problem my man,” Flynt said his eyes lightening up behind his shades. “In this profession us men got to stick together, if you know what I mean?”

Ren gave a light smile. “I do, there does seem to be a disbalance in gender.”

“So, now that I have your attention, why are did you park yourself over here? Don’t you want to get up and do some moving? I saw you at the dance back at Beacon-” Flynt cut himself off, remembering the missing member of JNPR. “Sorry, I shouldn’t bring up hard memories.”

“It’s fine, we’ve done our best to move on since then.”

“Alright then.” Flynt said guiltily, he idly tapped down his scroll to the table, it chimed indicating that the food had been paid for. “So, how are you liking Atlas so far?”

“It has it’s own charm, the people are strong and... decent. I like the casseroles?”

“Ah, I heard about your leaders little fan club, those Mantle ladies are fierce, you have to be a lot of man to handle them... So much that I didn’t recognize him at first, when he was down there with those kid. John? Jon? No, it’s Jaune right? Anyhow, he’s grown a lot, you must be proud of him.”

Ren face slowly begin to support a smile on his face, his eyes twinkling a bit as he drifted his head to the side looking off at Jaune as he tore up a storm on the dance floor, with Ruby trying her best to keep up while Penny cheered them on, Ciel had watching politely from the side. His cheeks flushed slightly. “He really is a great man.”

Flynt’s eyes widened in recognition. “Oh. I didn’t realize you two were like that, not that I have any problems with that, Ivory and Cobalt are well, anyway, I thought you and Valkyrie were tuning each other’s strings.”

Ren blushed slightly as he looked to Nora devouring feast of oysters, salmon, and mutton. Neon and Yang cheering her on, as Weiss and Blake looked on in equal parts horror, disgust and fascination.

“No way, both of them?” Flynt asked in awe.

Ren slowly nodded. 

The waitress came over with their plates and set them down and then left, thought not with out giving Flynt a wink before sashaying away.

Flynt was still too caught up in awe to notice, they both begin to quietly eat their food till Flynt couldn’t hold it in and asked.

“So like you, play them both? Separately? Together?”

Ren took a bite of his salad, Flynt idly taking note he had really nice lips and strangely pretty face. He didn’t really swing that way, but if he had to pick a guy...

“We play off each other, we cover each others weaknesses, and enhance our strengths. It’s difficult sometimes, but when we move into sync it’s like lightning breaking me down to my core nakedness, exposed to a pure light of creation before they blossom back to life.”

“Damn, just damn.” Flynt said a sweat drop going down his brow.

“Yeah, it’s... Intense.”

“So, sorry if this is a little rude, but why are you hanging out over here by your lonesome.”

Ren looked embarrassed, and Flynt thought he heard a whisper.

“What was that?”

“I --- Can’t--- Handle.”

“Dude, speak up.”

“My pelvis can’t handle this abuse!” Ren said with unusual fire. “I need a night off, those two are like sex devils that’ll seduce me, and I can’t say no to them!”

Flynt leaned back into this padded seat. “What?”

“Their too damn good! They have so much damn energy and power it’s like, it’s like, haaa,” Ren cut himself off as he lean forward tiredly. “Flynt,” He leaned back up. “I literally couldn't dance if I wanted too, if I even tried I probably would be out of commission for a week, because that’s how much energy they take out of me.”

“I don’t know whether to shake your hand or punch you.”

“A month ago, I would have punched me too. But, I’ll take a handshake.” Ren said holding out his hand.

Flynt met it with his own. 

Ren grunted as thought it was a intense exercise.

“Man you weren’t kidding, your aura feels really drained.”

“Good, that mean’s Jaune hasn’t tried to recharging me then.”

“What?”

“Jaune, his semblance is aura amp, it lets him donate aura to others, and greatly increase their abilities, including his own.”

“Damn, don’t see what so bad about that, people would literally kill to have someone like that on their side.”

“No, no, no! You don’t get it, he recharges me every time we... play. And it becomes hell. Hell. Every time I reach my limit he fills me with his white hot power and everything is back to 100%, except the sensitivity and pain, after a while I just black out because I can’t handle sensations anymore.” Ren said breathing tiredly.

“That sound awesome.”

“It was for the ten orgasms, but after they start hitting back to back to back it starts to hurt, alot.”

“Ten?!”

“Usually, between twenty and thirty.”

“I can’t even imagine.”

“We haven’t even got to Nora...”

“Oh.”

“Nora is my rock, but she is also like a rock. She just doesn’t stop till I’m drained dry, and even then she sometimes brings out the lightning dust...”

“I I, I need an adult?”

“You’re a adult, anyway, those two are bad enough on their own, but add them together and you get a exponentially more powerful problems.”

“Dust save you man. What’s it like?”

Ren’s eyes drift off as a dreamy smile comes over his face. “It’s heaven and hell, torture and overwhelming bliss... So, it’s like this. When we get together, Nora’s on the bottom and she’ll inject herself with lightning dust, and it feels like everyone of my cells comes alight and start to dance with hers. 

She’ll pull me into her chest, have you ever feared you would suffocate in someone’s breasts? I have it’s amazing... then I’ll feel him rub up against me, his aura is so warm and comfortable, It doesn’t even painful when he enters me anymore, It just feels so good and hot, like a blanket that’s been resting in sun for hours just wraps around me. 

He’s big too, it scared me at first, I thought it would rip me in two, but he’s very gentle when he wants to be. Now I couldn’t choose between Nora or Jaune, if one asked which I love more.

But, haha, that’s where the romance end, they start going hard and fast, I feel his weight press down on my back and Nora starts fucking me hard, Jaune’s starts off slower but only picks up more momentum as time goes on till it’s an avalanche of thrusting, and I can’t even respond anymore. It’s like being stuck between soft, but firm electric teddy bear and a warm, but ever escalating fucking machine.

Then I feel them lean into each other, his chest press down on my back and she leans up and they kiss, and it’s like they, it’s like their fucking each other through me. It’s surreal, almost like I become part of both of them.

And don’t even get me started, on when he starts to amp Nora and I up, I think even she gets little tired. But once I can’t go on, they turn on each.

Honestly, It’s hotter than you would think, seeing my shortstack muscle goddess getting picked up by my adonis with muscles like marble and impale her on his cock, they go at it for hours, and I watch numb as hell, but so warm and relaxed, my body completely spent. You ever been so exhausted but in this just so perfect way? It’s divine.

But eventually, they slide up next to sweat and hot, and they push me in-between them. I never feel left out. I’ve never felt more complete. Then well go get cleaned up and go to sleep.”

Ren finished with a content and lewd smile.

Flynt felt a chill go down his spine, he had been around the block a couple times, he and Neon had even played around when they first partnered up, but this? This was way beyond his experience... And the face Ren was making was doing something to him that he didn’t even knew he liked.

Flynt ordered a round of drinks. “Never mind, I’m buying you a drink, you deserve it.”

“Thank you.”

“But, I under stand why you need to take some time to retune yourself, that sounds like it would break down even a specialist.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me if they did. Imagine trying to deal with it for a month straight.”

“What?”

“Just joking, I think? I’m not really the jealous type.”

“What?”

“Like I said, I imagine dealing with that situation for hours at a time for an entire month, my hips can’t take that abuse.”

“Why not just say no?

“Did you hear anything I just said? I couldn’t say no if I tried. Think about it if it were you, do you think you could say no?”

Flynt looked over at Nora seeing her beautiful form and intense energy dancing through her, and briefly looked at Jaune, seeing that powerful form, practically spilling aura out, over a oddly enchanting form.

Flynt looked back to Ren a little flush. “So, you wouldn’t mind...”

“Not at all, in-fact, I would even encourage it.”

-------

Yellow mellows melting the pink drink

------

Neon Katt was having a blast, she had hit it off with Nora pretty well and Yang plus the rest of team RWBY were cool enough.

Though, she couldn’t help but notice that Nora seemed eager to eat and get away from her team.

“So, which one are you banging?” Neon asked casually to Nora as she was in between bites.

Weiss started coughing in shock as she was inbetween sips, well Yang and Blake looked on interest.

Nora cocked her head. “Both of them.”

“What?” Weiss said coughing.

“That’s my girl!” Neon and Yang cheered.

Blake leaned forward with interest. “Go on.”

“It’s simple, I boop Ren while Jaune boops Ren, me and Jaune boop each other with Ren, then when Ren is too tired we boop each other. Or Jaune grabs me and we boop, hard. Or vice-versa.”

“What’s it like?” Blake asked, while Neon nodded excitedly.

“Pancakes time dynamite.” Nora said proudly.

“Woah, that’s like bigger than rainbow bombs.” Neon said in awe.

“So which is the better lay?” Yang asked.

“Hmm, hard one. But imply one is better than the other and I’ll break your other arm off,” Nora said sweetly. “Anyway, Jaune has a really big... boop and Aura, and Ren has better technique and control. But to be honest, when we’re together I need to start with Ren, he just makes booping so sweet. And Jaune booping him, bleeds alot of energy off him, and I get a treat and show.”

Yang ignoring the treat pulled her collar little bit, a flush creeping down her neck and chest. “So, does he use his semblance?”

Blake stared with primal intensity. “Yes, tell us.”

“I can’t believe that this is happening.” Weiss said with a thousand yard stare, and a faint blush when she stare Jaune still working up a sweat on the dance floor.

Nora went pale and looked faraway, before a lewd and dreamy smile took its place. “Imagine a never-ending pleasure hell, where you want to stop, but your body won’t stop moving anyway as you give way to primal instinct as you stop thinking and eventually wake up covered in sweat as used like a glorified fuck toy to sate endless carnal urges of being made of pure lustful loving energy.”

Weiss still stared off at Jaune. “You mean Ren, right?”

Nora didn’t answer giving a slightly manic smile.

Neon slid up to Nora. “So, why were you so eager to get out clubbing tonight?”

Nora gave her a deadpan stare. “Silly cat, I can’t take that kind of abuse! I need to use tonight to refuel my reserves as much as possible while Jaune’s distracted.”

“Wait what?” Neon said to Nora.

“Yeah, Jaune’s a monster in booping, he just doesn’t stop. If I didn’t use Ren as sacrifice I wouldn’t last more than six hours, even with dust, I’m lucky that my plan to trap him with Winter in locker room today was a success, he didn’t have as much energy to seduce me and Ren today, otherwise he would have pulled us into the dorm and we wouldn’t be having this conversation. To bad, he feels guilty about it, I already told him that if he had needs take care to them. I don’t like a having numb legs everyday! Also Ren’s poor pelvis can’t take that type of abuse.”

Weiss’s eye begin to twitch. “That’s why Winter was too bed-ridden to join us tonight?”

“She’s too much of tight-ass, to go clubbing anyway... Well, maybe not anymore.” Neon said looking intently at the dancing blonde.

“Nope, I saw the pics. She will not be walking for days.” Nora said, looking at pics Jaune sent, apparently feeling the need to confess to his crimes to her and Ren, though she doubted Ren checked his scroll yet.

Blake sidled up next to Nora and peered into the pics, she started breathing heavily. 

Yang seemed to fight the desrie at first, but folded anyway. She looked, and let out a low whistle. “Dust damn, he wrecked her...”

“So, you said you were open to him taking care of his needs?” Neon said with a half-lided eyes, smiling.

“Yep, I’d say even encourage it, spread the word. Tell your dad, tell your mom, tell your sister, Jaune Arc is open season!” Nora said jumping on top of the table.

Yang looked around. “Where did Weiss go?”

-----

Beware the Yellow Fellow

-----

Ruby was having a blast tonight, it was actually fun to go dancing, when she wasn’t wearing damn lady-stilts, but even with her semblance it was dauting task to keep up with her male bestie.

Jaune practically had dancing a hole into the floor, almost hypnotically as he m moved, even Penny and her friend Ciel were unable to keep from dancing a little bit.

“What’s got you so relaxed, Vomit Boy?” Ruby asked in between breaths. Though it pleased her to see her friend happy after his long bout against depression.

“Just feeling lucky to be where I am, and no clue how I got here, so I’m just going to have fun.”

“That’s great friend Jaune!”

“Most admiral feelings, Huntsman Jaune.”

“That’s great, Jaune.” Ruby said before exhaustion hit again, only for a glowing hand to refuel her, again.

Ruby pouted. “Why you gotta keep you doing that?”

Jaune gave a wry smirk. “Can’t lose my dance partner yet, Ren and Nora are tired tonight, so I need someone to play with. Unless you don’t got the guts?” He said with a slightly, odd tone.

“Well mister, consider me your playmate! Cause, I’ll keep going till my guts burst.”

“That’s the spirit!”

Penny stepped up, pulling Ciel along.

“To avoid Friend Jaune from bursting Friend Rubys guts, I have come to assist her with Friend Ciel! Let the dancing commence!”

Ciel blushes. “Please don’t take that out of context.”

Jaune smirked. “Not unless you want me too, anyway back to burning up the dance floor!”

“Are we now setting fire to the floor?” Penny asked.

“It’s a metaphor Penny, for the intensity that he’s dancing.” Ciel replied. “At our eight o’clock several huntress are approaching us, odd.”

Ruby leaned against Penny's form. “Weird, I thought Weiss hated club dancing, and Neon was hanging out with Nora?”

“They must be here to assist the anti-gut bursting measure!” Penny proclaimed. 

“I do not believe that is the case,” Ciel said watching as the stalked closer to Jaune. 

----

Watching from a distance, Ren and Flynt sat across from each other. “So, what now?” Flynt asked, watching as his partner and Weiss grabbed one side of the Blonde Leader and began to dance and grind against him.

“Now, now I rest for the night. Hopefully Nora will understand.” Ren said with drooping eyes.

Flynt looked over to the visibly relieve Valkyrie. “Yeah, I get the vibe she will.”

#Renorarc #JNPR #Flynt Coal #Lie Ren #Open Renorarc #Nora Valkyrie. #Neon Katt #Jaune Arc #Ruby Rose #penny polendina #Ciel Soleil

[strangefable]

Unplanned Variable: Lore Jameson: Part Four

Parts: One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven

10. What’s their favourite place in Halcyon? Least favourite? The Unreliable is her home in Halcyon for a long time; she is deeply fond of the ship. After the events of the game, she eventually settles in Roseway Gardens because she finds it peaceful. She takes over Roseway and makes it a Firefly town. She also has a fondness for Stellar Bay, as it reminds her a little of the parts of the city she remembers living in on Earth, filled with the same kinds of scrappy, clever, independent folks.

Lore despises Byzantium and all it represents. She never feels comfortable there, despite spending a fair amount of time in the city post-game in order to reshape the Board and the colony. She also hates the Roseway Pens and Labs and eventually has them torn down. Max takes it upon himself to build a memorial botanical garden in place of the former raptidon pens for his own reasons. She also cannot stand anything about Eridanos.

She has mixed feelings about Gorgon, as the asteroid is stunningly beautiful, but the atrocities committed there are horrors that give her nightmares for years afterward. She also has complex feelings about Emerald Vale and Edgewater.

11. Do they have a favourite alien creature? Yes, very much so, but I can't tell you what it is, as I have not finished writing about it yet. She likes most animals, as is her nature, no matter how scary or wild or dangerous they may be, though she is incredibly wary of raptidons after events in Roseway.

12. Did they save The Hope? Rescuing the Hope was her driving purpose throughout the game's entire plot. Saving the Hope colonists meant saving her sister, and that was the only thing that ever mattered to her, even before she boarded the ship in the first place. So yes, she absolutely saved the Hope.

13. What do they want to do afterwards? - but do they get a happy ending? During the events of the game, Lore doesn't believe she has a future. She's dead set on saving Nora; what happens to her after that does not matter to her. It causes some friction with the crew when they realize how fatalistic she is about it. Things change, however, when she learns the full force of what's happened to Halcyon and what will happen to everyone if no one steps up, so she throws herself into restructuring the entire colony, top to bottom, with the help of all her newfound friends, her sister, Phineas and all the other Hope colonists.

She gets a new and unexpected reason to keep going, even after Max seemingly abandons her, when she discovers her pregnancy. Her daughter becomes her new purpose, beside saving the rest of Halcyon.

Eventually, though, she does get her complete happy ending, when Max returns, makes up for his foolish mistakes, and they settle into a life together. She feels much happier and more grounded with him beside her. They have two more children and build a home outside of Roseway together, though Lore continues to captain the Unreliable and handle Firefly interests, as well as running the colony.

Parts: One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven

#the outer worlds #lore jameson #captain of the unreliable #unplanned variable #vicar max #lore and max #lore lore #strangefable writes

[that-blue-vault-dweller]

What if sole narrated and did sound effects to everything them and their companions did. They would also be a big drama queen in a goofy way. Like if they went into a spooky place they would say like “ We wandered into the great darkness that swallowed us whole. We jumped at every shadow and noise not knowing what awaits us!!” They then scream and grasp onto their companion for no reason and tearfully explain that them and Nate/Nora used to joke about this all the time. BTW I love your blog!!!

This is an absolutely awesome idea, and if it's all good with you, I might even write a oneshot about this at some point. 🥰 And thank you so much!!!! I'm so glad you love my blog! That means so much to hear 🥺💖

Thank you for the request, and I hope you enjoy! 💙💛

Cait - Thinks that F!Sole is being absolutely ridiculous. But she goes along with it and just lets F!Sole do her thing, keeping her own thoughts about it to herself. But it does eventually does grow to be very old. However, when F!Sole tells her that she used to do it with her husband, Cait feels absolutely terrible for being annoyed by F!Sole's little habit. She awkwardly tells F!Sole that she didn't know that. Next time that F!Sole starts narrating events, Cait adds in a few of her own narrations in an attempt to play with F!Sole.

Piper - Actually starts doing it with her a little. If they go somewhere creepy that is unsettling them both, they start narrating it as if it is some sort of great horror novel. It ends up scaring them even more but it makes them feel safe in some weird way. Probably because it gives them both vocal reassurance that they're both still there together. When F!Sole eventually explains that her husband used to do this with her, Piper feels her heart clench a bit in her chest. However, Piper feels extremely honored that her best friend values her so much that she would play this special game with her. From then on, whenever F!Sole starts to play the game, Piper feels warm and happy inside and easily pitches in, adding her own narration.

Curie - Is confused, but she thinks it is quite cute despite how unnecessary. She sometimes giggles at the things that F!Sole says and how she narrates. She ultimately just goes along with it, not really questioning the entire process, and finding it to be a sweet quirk of F!Sole's. However, when F!Sole tells her that she used to do this with her husband, Curie is suddenly struck with the deep meaning behind the game. Soon, Curie tries to throw in a few sound effects here and there and narrate a few things as well. However, she is not very good at it. But she is trying her best!

MacCready - Thinks it's silly at first, but he soon finds himself doing it as well. He starts narrating things like they're in a comic book together, and when F!Sole punches people in the jaw, he's somewhere nearby yelling about the Silver Shroud and of course, offering an emphatic "Pow" to narrate her great takedown. When she tells him that she and her husband did this, he feels a little awkward doing it with her still. However, he knows she must want to do it with him if she's doing it so much around him. Therefore, they both keep narrating their comic book journey.

Deacon - Absolutely loves it, and sometimes even initiates it himself. Especially when they happen to be paired together for missions with Glory. They both team up together to really annoy the poor synth. She is ready to chop off her own ears by the time they are through with the mission because the combination of Deacon and F!Sole is way more irritation than any normal human can handle. When F!Sole finally explains that she and her husband played this game together, he takes it pretty well, somehow managing to turn the entire admission into something much more lighthearted.

Codsworth - Eagerly jumps in with her and narrates as well. He knows the significance of this game already, and she does not even have to tell him about it. However, they end up talking about it together at some point, and he tells her that while he is definitely not at sir's level of mastery, he will do his best to efficiently play the game with her.

Hancock - Usually has to get high to really want to do it with her. However, if he can annoy someone with her, he will eagerly play the game with or without chems in his system. He thinks it's way cuter when she does it, and he sometimes proceeds to narrate what F!Sole is doing while looking at things through a very inappropriate lens making comments about her figure or something. When she eventually tells him that she did this with her husband, he is thrown off. From then on, he tries to pitch in with her game a little more often.

Danse - Finds this game absolutely and completely preposterous and tells her so in somewhat gentler words. It normally aggravates him a little when she starts doing it. However, after he finds out that she did this with her husband, he feels quite bad about telling her to stop. So he starts throwing in his own narrations very, very occasionally and only if it is just the two of them. Of course, he's not too good at it since he sounds like he is reciting events from a history textbook or an encyclopedia.

Preston - Does not really know what to think. It is the strangest thing he's heard anyone do in a while, but he just shrugs it off and decides to enjoy it. Sometimes when she narrates, it legitimately makes him laugh, and she seems very pleased when that occurs. When she tells him that she and her husband did this game, he feels sad for her. After that, as he laughs at her narrations, he always remembers that this game is a way to keep her husband's memory alive.

Valentine - Is confused by it at first, but he soon finds it extremely adorable, and he just happily listens to her narrating. It seems to make her happy, so he does not worry about anything else. If something can bring a little light in her life, then he is perfectly content. When she admits that it was an activity her and her husband did, he feels his heart ache a little. From then on, he takes an even greater enjoyment in hearing her, knowing that she is entrusting him with a valuable piece of her past life.

X6-88 - Is bewildered and at first begins to question if she needs some sort of help. He soon enough asks if she is alright and if she is feeling well. She soon replies that yes, she is feeling well and this was just something that she and her husband did. He immediately feels somewhere between relieved and very awkward. After that, he just lets her do her thing, and he keeps his thoughts to himself. However, at some point afterward, he himself accidentally ends up making a sound effect in that very monotone manner. He is terribly humiliated, but she seems absolutely thrilled with it. So he finds that he is not quite so embarrassed anymore.

Dogmeat - Loves the sound of her voice, so he is absolutely thrilled about her playing this game. He loves to hear her speak to him, and whenever she starts making sound effects or narrating, he sometimes barks to add to the fun. He always is looking at her when she does it, and he doesn't stop keeping his attentions on her. This is a wonderful game as far as he's concerned.

Strong - Is extremely disoriented when she firsts starts it, but he soon grows angry and irritated by it. He tells her that she needs to be quieter and quit saying weird things about what they're doing. He also says she needs to stop making those weird noises. It does not really matter to him that she used to do it with her husband. He just thinks she needs to stop.

#fallout companion reacts #fallout companions react #fallout 4 #fo4 #fallout #fallout 4 companions react #fallout 4 companion reacts #piper wright #curie #cait #strong #dogmeat #deacon #preston garvey #paladin danse #danse #nick valentine #maccready #robert maccready #hancock #john hancock #x6-88 #codsworth

[faboover]

The State of Ruby as of RWBY Vol. 8 Episode 8

There are two key lines that pique my interest about Ruby from Episode 8.

(After finishing the call from May)

RUBY: "It's just too much. The Grimm, the Crater, Nora, Penny, how do we fix all of it?"

(When Ruby and Blake go to turn on the generator to restore power)

RUBY: "C'mon, c'mon!"

Blake: "Don't worry, it'll work."

RUBY: "Nothing else has."

These lines show that Ruby is starting to become overwhelmed by the situation and is unsure of how she and her allies can resolve all of it. She has also started to become pessimistic about how things will go moving forward. This is all very unlike how Ruby has been since the start of the series.

From the start, Ruby is a character who is very confident in herself, one of the most optimistic characters in the series, and has a will that will allow her to tackle any obstacle laid before her without much hesitation. So, how did Ruby get to the point where it seems that she is unsure of herself and responding pessimistically to the actions she and her friends are taking?

Well, this has been been building up for the last 3 Volumes (6-8). If you've seen my Video on RWBY's Story when I talk about Ruby, I mention that Ruby's optimism and will is being challenged by her friends and Uncle, the Apathy, and Cordovin. What I didn't notice back then is the uncertainty that was starting to develop in Ruby.

(Early part of Ruby's conversation with Maria in Vol. 6 Ep. 8)

RUBY: "The others went to get food for tonight."

Maria: "Why not go with them?"

Ruby: "I don't know. I don't know anything. What do I tell Jaune and his team when we don't even have a plan?!

Qrow's out drinking, Ozpin hasn't come back, and even if he did, I don't know if I could trust him, and there's always Jinn, but we only have one more question we can ask her. I feel like I'm letting everyone down."

Maria: "You know, you don't give yourself enough credit."

RUBY: "Oh *short laugh*, thanks."

Maria: "That wasn't a compliment."

This is an early indication of Ruby's growing uncertainty and loss of confidence as a result of everything that happened after Ruby asked Jinn her question about Oz.

This brings us to Volume 7 where Ruby makes a snap decision to hide the truth of Oz and Salem from Ironwood. Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Oscar question Ruby about making a decision like that. From her responses, even Ruby is unsure if that was a good call. Seen in her mannerisms and that Ruby does plan to tell Ironwood the truth, eventually.

Yang: "Can we talk about that again?"

RUBY: "What about it?"

Yang: "We're really not going to tell Ironwood what happened to Oz, what we learned about Jinn, about Salem?"

RUBY: "We are! *stops for a moment and turns her head down to meekly say* We will. But you saw how things looked when we flew into Atlas."

Blake: "The General's heart seems to be in the right place, but that doesn't mean we should trust him yet."

Weiss: "We need to play along for a while before we make any major decisions."

Yang: "Okay, how did Oscar feel about that?"

RUBY: *Initially looking at Yang before slowly turning her head down as the scene flashes back to Ruby's conversation with Oscar.*

RUBY: "Probably shouldn't keep running around with an Ancient Relic on a keychain, you know?"

Oscar: "But."

RUBY: "I know you'll keep it safe in Atlas."

Oscar: "Ruby, hiding things from Ironwood, doesn't that feel like what Ozpin did to us?"

RUBY: *Her eyes again looking directly at Oscar and then her eyes turn away from him*

These moments show doubt in Ruby's own decision. We see more of her uncertainty in her conversation with Qrow after being given her Huntress License by Ironwood.

Qrow: "Big day for you huh kiddo?"

RUBY: "It's definitely a lot to take in."

Qrow: "Which part? The finally getting to Atlas part? Getting your license part? Or the not quite disclosing everything to Ironwood part? Or, all of the above?"

RUBY: "All of the above.

I'm trying to do what I think is best, but I really can't tell if what's best is what's right or if I'm no different from Oz."

Qrow: "Ruby, Oz only trusted himself with the whole truth. You're trusting others, but you're making sure they prove themselves first. I think that's a pretty big difference."

RUBY: "I hope so. This says I'm a Huntress now, but I don't feel like I know much more than I did at Beacon."

Qrow: "That feeling never goes away."

Then everything at the Schnee Manor happens in which Ruby and Oscar are both excited to finally tell Ironwood, but this ends up having the inverse affect when Cinder and Salem make themselves known to Ironwood. Now, Ironwood doesn't trust them at all for the things they kept from him and the actions Yang and Blake took behind Ironwood's back. Ironwood believing their actions put him in a disadvantageous position with Salem. Thus we get a full fallout with Ruby's group and Ironwood.

That finally brings us to the start of Volume 8. Yang makes her dissatisfaction with Ruby's decision making known and is against Ruby's idea to get Amity Tower up and running to let the world know about Salem and call for aid. Yang wanting to make a tangible difference by helping Mantle. Even Ren and Nora are disagreeing. Jaune suggests they go for both as Ruby expresses her concerns about separating everyone. Ruby seeing this as creating a divide between them. Ruby is assured by Oscar that, even though they are working separately, they are still united.

The results of this decision to separate for Ruby:

JOYR is MIA

Nora is hurt badly

Penny, who she wanted to be safe at Amity, has crashed landed onto the Schnee Estate's Courtyard and is also in bad condition.

All of this including the fact that Salem has now begun her assault on Atlas, which also made things worse for Mantle.

This brings us back to episode 8 in which Ruby is struggling to figure out a way to help everyone and deal with everything. Her will is still strong enough to keep her going and try to figure it out with everyone around her, but all that has transpired has caused her to lose confidence in herself and their ability to handle these situations. This is even after Klein gives his advice to Ruby to try not to attack everything all at once and to address these situations one at a time.

Now that Ruby has seen that a person was inside the Hound and the horror she expresses at this realization, the stress placed upon her by everything happening and herself just keeps building. Her will isn't broken and is what's keeping her going along with her friends backing her up. Seen with Blake when she explains how Ruby inspires her to this day. Similar to what happened when Ruby's stress came to a head and started apologizing to Jaune at the end of Volume 4 in which Jaune explains that Ruby's ability to take action is what spurred Him, Ren and Nora to follow her.

So yeah, that's where we are at with Ruby. You can now see why those initial two lines caught my attention. I can't wait to see what comes next for Ruby this and next Volume.

#blog #RWBY #rwby8 #Volume 8 #Episode 8 #Ruby #character analysis #analysis #character #Vol. 8 #Vol 8 #Ep 8 #Ruby Rose #optimism #will #confidence

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Creation”

Happy Saturday, everyone! Oh man, oh man, oh man. I think I'll need to steer clear of the general RWBY tags this week, simply because I know the sort of responses I'll see to this episode. From smug celebration at Ironwood's downfall, to bad takes about what makes us human, this episode is a petri dish of sensitive material handled insensitively.

Let’s unpack it, shall we? 

We open on an action that feels like a summery of the last three volumes: a grimm attacks an airship from the front, no doubt killing its pilot, while the other grimm conveniently ignore our heroes, no masking in sight. The group looks a little sad at the destruction around them, but ultimately ignore it because they have bigger, heroic things to do. I could write a whole, additional essay on how the huntsmen code — to protect the people — has been warped and abandoned by our protagonists in their effort to do what they think is right. It's a tale that might have been compelling if only RT knew they were writing it.

We get a shot of Atlas drones unloading the bomb before one is taken out, presumably by Qrow and Robyn. Segueing to Ironwood and the Ace Ops, they're waiting for Penny to arrive, the former carrying a massive gun presumably capable of capturing her. Despite the horror we saw on their faces last episode at the realization that Ironwood would kill Marrow for speaking up, it seems that now the Ace Ops are entirely in agreement with these measures. A week ago the implication was that they fell back in line out of fear, but now Harriet talks passionately about "putting down" the group if they were stupid enough to accompany Penny. "The General gave his terms." Vine sighs at this, but doesn't actively disagree. He's just "retracing the steps that led us here."

So, congratulations on introducing four new characters, not bothering to develop any of them, killing one off while ignoring Qrow's hand in that, and having the other three become all, "Yeah! Mass murder is a perfect solution!" off screen. Marrow is the only one with something resembling development and, as covered in these recaps, that's been pretty badly executed too.

Ironwood sends them to deal with Robyn and Qrow after Winter reappears to "assist" him. That gets quotation marks because most viewers at this point have realized that she's who our two birbs spotted in the elevator. Winter isn't on Ironwood's side anymore, she's just skillfully clearing the field for the final attack. Indeed, we get a moment where she hesitantly brings up the bomb and Ironwood responds that he hopes she's not going to try and talk him out of it. No. Winter doesn't think that's possible. This was her final attempt at peace.

One of the reasons why I think I'll stick to my own blog for a while is because the fandom has a tendency to paint broad personality traits as evil when applied to some characters, yet simultaneously heroic when applied to others, when really it's about how that those traits are used. What I mean is, I've seen a lot of Ironwood critical posts that emphasize how stubborn he is. He thinks he's right and he won't back down. He wont listen to others. He's going through with this plan and if anyone tries to stop him? That's their mistake. Totally evil, right? Except, this is the exact same behavior Ruby displays, particularly in Volumes 6 and 7. She was stubborn about stealing from Argus and continuing the fight to the point where it endangered her and her teammates, to say nothing of the rest of the city. She refused to listen to Qrow, or Ironwood, or the Ace Ops, loudly announcing that she was right about, well, everything. If they didn't agree with her, the options were to leave the group entirely, or fight her. The actual difference here is that the writers have taken Ironwood to an extreme, one that's incredibly easy to understand as bad because it is bad: bombing Mantle has no defense. Ruby pulls the exact same nonsense, it's just not to that same extreme and her actions are followed by scenes that are meant to make us forgive her: a sad look because she didn't mean to get a city attacked by a leviathan grimm, a cry on the staircase because she didn't mean to risk the lives of an entire kingdom... even though she did. Ironwood is the bad guy because he's been written to take specific, OOC actions like shooting unarmed kids. He's not the bad guy because when other characters go, "Don't do this" his response is, "I have to." Because that's been Ruby's motto ever since she "had" to use the Lamp to rip Ozpin’s life story away. RWBY introduced those extreme actions of shooting the youngest in the group (for no reason) and threatening to bomb a city (for no reason) or shooting a councilman (for no reason) because when you remove those you've got a man who looks exactly like our hero. Ironwood's arc has been peppered with these confusing, unpersuasive actions because if you just keep the story as him stubbornly keeping to a plan he thinks will save the world, you're left with the reminder that all Ruby has done lately is stubbornly keep to plans she thinks will save the world. This moment with Winter just highlights how ill thought out Ironwood's descent has been because he does everything Ruby does... with a few, tacked on, “and randomly shoots people!” moments to ensure we understand that he’s definitely evil. No comparison to our heroes here, folks! 

Ironwood is a bad guy now. That’s certain, but he was made that way so the story never had to grapple with the question of what that means for Ruby if we really start condemning things like lying, secrets, stubbornness, or endangering others for the greater good. Well then damn, if we strip away the hypocrisy then she might not be a good person after all. Or the people she’s simplistically labeled as bad might not be the devils Ruby claims they are. 

But that’s a level of nuance RWBY would rather pretend doesn’t exist. 

All of which is highlighted by Ironwood’s reaction to "Penny." He sighs and sags over the gun, immediately putting it aside. With his hand on her shoulder, Ironwood tells her she's "done the right thing." Precisely the same way Ruby would lower Crescent Rose and give someone a smile when they decided to fall in line with her.

Which, of course, is the moment when Emerald reveals herself, dispelling the Penny illusion and revealing Team JNPR The Second behind her. She gives a quip about it feeling "weird" to do the right thing before disappearing.

From there the action picks up fast. I really enjoyed this battle simply from a choreography and energy standpoint. It gets the blood pumping, Ironwood's hand-to-hand is spectacular — especially that moment against Ren — and the group actually displays teamwork for the first time in what feels like forever, all of them needed to land a hit on Ironwood. As always, out of the context of the rest of the show it feels and looks great. My primary issue is that we get this fantastic fight against Ironwood. Not Salem, not Cinder, not Watts (like last volume when Ironwood was still a hero), not even Emerald as a means of transitioning from murderous villain to the group's best bud. No, what's arguably the best action sequence in the volume thus far goes to beating up the guy they betrayed from the start. There's no catharsis for me here, only frustration as we watch Ironwood stand in shock as Winter powers up Nora — who's fine now, I guess — and she slams her hammer into his face. 

It never should have come to this and when a good character is done so dirty, their downfall doesn't evoke the emotions the writers are looking for. Watching Ironwood fall doesn't generate feelings of victory, or even tragedy at a course of events others were powerless to stop. It's just frustration at watching years worth of bad writing, sprinkled with fantastic ideas that never go anywhere.

Oscar gets a few hits in, Ironwood snatches his cane, and just as he's about to throw a punch, Winter arrives with the most dramatic sword slash I've ever seen.

Ironwood's aura breaks and he falls, unconscious. We cut to an image of a droid's head separated from its body, one of Robyn's arrows through its skull. That doesn't have meaning or anything.

I suppose I should be grateful they didn't rip Ironwood's arm away during the fight, or outright kill him, though I'm still expecting him to die before the end of the volume.

Hmm. Wouldn't that be something? If after Salem's arrival, freezing cold, a Hound attack, grimm soup, a giant whale, a massive army, and a hack ending in self-destruction, the one character who actually dies is Ironwood. 

It's looking more and more likely.

Honestly, beyond all the obvious, what's so frustrating about this fight is that characters are only now using their impressive abilities to their fullest. Emerald creates an entire fantasy of what's happening and then straight up disappears, but she only does a half-assed version of that when fighting against Penny. (And really, she put more effort into helping the heroes she just joined over Cinder, the woman she's been obsessed with since the start?) Marrow refuses to use "Stay" against a group they wanted to peacefully arrest because that's just too horrible an act, I guess, but he'll do it on his own teammates the second Qrow and Robyn don’t want to fight.  

This is what I mean when I say the rules of the world bend to assist the protagonists in absurd ways. It's not nearly as egregious as Amity suddenly being up and running, but the fact that characters become substantially more powerful while fighting for the protagonists than they do against them is still a significant problem.

So Ironwood is down and out. As much as I hated watching that and didn't necessarily want more, am I the only one who felt like it was... a bit lackluster? I mean, the action was great, yes, but relatively short. There was no dialogue, such as another delve into the moral questions that led to this fight in the first place. There certainly wasn’t any hesitance against fighting a former ally. (Again, we’re meant to believe that the Ace Ops won because they just couldn’t bear to fight the group seriously, but every former ally here is capable of wailing on Ironwood without a single pause or pained look?) Ironwood just skillfully blocks for a while, is blindsided by Winter's betrayal, and then falls unconscious. Given that we learn he and Jacques will be evacuated after the rest of the kingdom, it's possible he'll escape somehow and we'll get a fight 2.0, but if not that feels like a rather tame end to the guy forced into the antagonist seat. Plus, what was the point of having Qrow frothing at the mouth to kill him this whole volume? I never wanted that to happen, I'm glad it hasn't, but I'm nevertheless left to ask why we bothered with that eleven episode side plot if we were going to erase it with one sentence from Robyn about Qrow being better than this. If that's all it took, let them work through Qrow's irrational anger while sitting around in a cell.

Winter tells the group to move onto "phase two" which is when we're treated to a flashback. We return to the ending of the last episode, with Ruby realizing that opening the vault is an option. Jaune, all smiles, goes, "We never considered using what's inside!"

This is what I mean about no consequences! This is what I mean about it all being a meaningless circle that ends with undeserved praise for the group! We started this horror show with Ironwood going, "We don't have a plan to protect the people, so I'm going to take what people we do have to safety" and the group going, "We don't have a plan either, but we're going to stop you implementing your plan because it's not perfect, risking a kingdom's worth of lives in the process." Now, the group has used two plans, one of which two characters knew about at the start and another they could have devised with the information they had. Oscar and Ozpin's, "We have an all powerful magical blast in our cane" and the group's "What if we used the Staff for something other than raising Atlas?" are both things that could have come up in the office debate. These were both always on the table! Instead, Ruby grew furious over the mere thought of cutting their losses, betrayed Ironwood again, attacked his people, denounced him to the world, and then two days later goes, "Oh wait! We could do something now that we could have easily done before if we hadn't made a needless enemy!" 

Everyone realizes how much worse they made things, right? Turning against Ironwood, bringing everyone left in Mantle directly under Atlas, sitting around while an army was devoured, drawing it out until Penny was hacked... all of it would have been avoided if the group had thought and discussed things for a few minutes, not jumping straight to violently resisting what Ironwood came up with first. "We never considered..." Ruby says. Yeah, you didn't, except that's not something to smile about. The group made the situation a thousand times worse with their reaction when they could have just magically evacuated the kingdom from the start. “Maybe we could use it to save Penny and get everyone in Atlas and Mantle back to safety." Nothing has changed! They had this ability the whole time! Nothing about the last twelve episodes led them here, they just randomly thought of it after RT had padded the volume with needless drama. Considering that they're heading to Vacuo now, we could have just made this the finale of Volume 7 instead: big fight with Ironwood, revelation, get everyone  evacuated while Salem attacks, leave her behind, then Volume 8 begins in Vacuo with the group knowing Salem is out there looking for them. This entire volume has been pointless. What did they accomplish?

Oscar got kidnapped and beat up, Nora was scarred, Ruby and Yang realized horrible things about Summer, and the whole world is panicking about a witch. Good things are... Ren and Ruby unlocked some semblance stuff? Weiss loves her brother again after he proved himself useful to her? Great work, team.

So this one moment makes everything they've done up to this point useless and, of course, once thought up the plan goes off without a hitch. Note that the summary of this episode says, "It's risky, dangerous, and nearly impossible — but it's the only plan they've got." Nearly impossible? That's a whole lot of talk for a plan that was implemented perfectly.

There is, admittedly, one snag, but one that is likewise made meaningless just seconds later. We'll get to that.

We see Winter call Weiss who also smiles at hearing from her sister. Obviously interactions like the group's with Emerald are the bigger concern, but it's still an issue that no one reacts as they should to people reappearing in their lives. Rather, RWBY continually confuses audience knowledge with character knowledge. We know Winter is on their side now, but Weiss hasn't a clue. Last she saw, she and Winter were agreeing to head down different paths. She has no reason to think her sister isn't loyal to Ironwood, so why isn't the group treating this call with suspicion? What if it's Ironwood trying to mess with them through a presumably safe party? I swear to god, with any consistency in the story this group would be dead ten times over because their decisions are so stupid. Oscar decides to believe in the guy currently beating him to a pulp, the group decides to trust a villain over a flawed ally, and now they see Ironwood’s second calling and are like, “Great, big sister Winter is checking in!” There’s a difference between a hopeful story filled with second chances and characters whose reliance on the narrative bending to assist them makes them come across as insanely naive. 

None of which even touches on characters forgetting that other characters are presumably dead. Ironwood shot Oscar off the edge of Atlas, but doesn't react to learning he was kidnapped, or when he shows up to the fight. Thanks to Marrow's comment, Winter thinks YJOR have perished in the whale, but also has no reaction to them appearing to help with this plan. Absolutely nothing is followed up on.

We then get a flashback within the flashback (fun) of Winter — shock — not arresting Marrow. It's precisely as I assumed, with Marrow angrily asking why she hit him and Winter responding with, “Because you were about to get killed if I didn’t do something!” As I said last recap, I feel like I should let the marginalized groups lead this discussion, but I do want to add that no matter how well intentioned — or strategic, as I mentioned last time — the imagery itself is still harmful. No matter the context, we were still left with white woman Winter putting her knee on black man Marrow's back to arrest him, and it’s an image that everyone in the U.S. should be familiar with the horror of. Far more of a problem than the (presumed) ignorance of this scene is, I think, the choice to make Winter entirely unrepentant. I think some of this discomfort could have been alleviated if RT had written Winter as apologetic, contrite that it came to that and asking Marrow to understand that she only did it as a means of assisting him. Asking his forgiveness. Instead, we get this

So what, the only emotion we have room for is gratitude that Winter beat him up? Yikes.

As a lighter side note, I find the animation here unintentionally hilarious. Winter's assistive device makes her shoulders look too high, making this gesture more, "Woman exaggeratedly pouts about not getting ice cream for dinner" and less, "Woman sternly closes off during a disagreement about saving lives and betraying their general." Gotta find our humor where we can, right?

What's intentional, but far less funny, is the needless animation to show us that, yes, Marrow is peering at Winter calling Weiss. Oh, the shenanigans. 

The elevator opens where Qrow and Robyn spot them. "Speaking of help," Winter says, as if she has any reason to believe Qrow didn't kill Clover. He and Robyn lower their weapons a bit, as if they have any reason to believe Winter and Marrow aren't still loyal to Ironwood. Would it really be so hard to have Winter immediately throw up her hands in the face of their almost-attack, blurting that she's not their enemy and needs their help, please listen? Again, RWBY can't remember which characters know what, let alone what their motivations and reactions should be.

We then enter the third part of the flashback where everyone piles into the Schnee dining room and discusses doing the things they could have done from the start. I'm metaphorically banging my head against that table. In RWBY's favor though, we also get a long shot of Jaune continuing to boost Penny’s aura.

Though it's only one of many issues, just the other day I asked, "Hey, why has Jaune always needed to hold onto the person he's assisting, but now suddenly he can touch Penny once and the boost remains?" It still doesn't explain why he was letting go before/why him needing to boost her continuously didn't put a hard time limit on their plan — not that Mantle's hour limit meant a thing — but at least they're showing more of that here.

Oscar notes that Atlas has enough gravity dust that it won't fall immediately when they use the Relic, but they will have to move fast to ensure no one is underneath. Yeah, like all the civilians you put there. He also cautions that the Staff isn't a "magic wand" that they can just wave to make all their problems go away... even though that's precisely what they're going to do. Ozpin gets some lines that aren't apologies or followed by attacks — hallelujah! — about how the Staff's spirit is a "character" and requires that you be able to precisely explain anything you want him to make. Blueprints, examples, a firm knowledge of how this will be accomplished — all of it is required to actually get what you're after. That's a cool limitation. It's just too bad we didn't know about it episodes ago, forcing our heroes to find ways to meet those requirements. Instead, they already have everything ready to go the moment they learn about it: Penny has her own schematics and Whitley apparently has knowledge of the entire kingdom after sending some ships out. Normally I'd go, "Really?" but I'm still just struck by how much good he's done compared to everyone else in this room. Your show is seriously broken when the side character the writers didn't even want the audience to like until a few episodes ago is more active, mature, and sensible than the heroes.

From there we see the group implementing the plan. They fly up through the hole Oscar left, straight to the vault. Penny opens it without any trouble and Ruby uses her speed to grab the Relic and stop time, halting her self-termination. I do like that combination of skill and their knowledge of how this magic works. That felt like a smart move. What's interesting though is that the Relic appears to stop time in the entire kingdom. We see people in Mantle and Atlas slowing to a halt too. I assume no one remembers that happening after time restarts, otherwise people would be freaked out by suddenly being frozen in place.

Wouldn't that have been cool though? The group often takes a while to use the Relics, either deciding what they need, or watching Jinn's information, so what if you had a population that blinks and suddenly, from their perspective, half an hour has passed? How long might Ozpin have sat on his knees after Jinn told him he wasn't able to defeat Salem? How long was that space frozen? We could have had a world built around rumors and fairy tales. Not the random stories Ozpin brings up to make a point and that we never hear about again, but tiny details that foreshadow these revelations. A Beacon where the kids tell each other spooky stories of people suddenly losing time, once a whole day. The wives, sisters, daughters, and nieces who disappear, or wake up one day with horrifying, unnatural powers. We see magic influence the world around it, but we've seen very little of the world reacting to that influence. The one time I can think of is Blake reading a book about "a man with two souls," the fiction clearly inspired by knowledge of Ozpin. And indeed, it felt great to recognize that as a significant detail and then be proven right years later as the lore was revealed. We could have gotten so much more of that if RWBY was better planned out.

I'm getting off track though. As time stops we see a series of images: Ironwood being led to a cell with Jacques, Penny succumbing to her hack, Team JNPR The Second preparing to contact the kingdom about what's going on. Then everyone is distracted by the giant, blue, buff Ambrosius who comes out of the Staff.

...there's a lot of innuendo in that last statement lol. At least RWBY is committed to the crazy design they chose? I was never particularly comfortable with the image of characters gaping up at a giant, naked woman in chains, so it's nice to balance that a bit with an equally giant, naked dude in chains.

From here things get confusing. In all honesty, I'm not sure if this is another moment where RWBY is trying to pass off a retcon as the group being brilliant, or if I, as an individual, simply didn't follow the logic. I won't bother to rehash the slow, meandering way that Ruby reveals their plan — that certainly didn't help with the clarity. Not in an episode where we didn’t even know these rules ahead of time — but it boils down to this:

The moment they have Ambrosius create something new Atlas will start to fall. Two of his creations can't exist at the same time.

He needs clear instructions about what he's making in order to create it.

The group has brought him Penny's schematics so that he understands how she's built.

They want, specifically, "a new version of her... using her exact robot parts."  

They can't just create an exact duplicate of Penny because that would carry the virus with it.

They can't create an exact duplicate without the virus because that Penny would cease to exist as soon as they used Ambrosius to make an evacuation plan instead.

So they essentially want Ambrosius to create a new Penny by removing all the robot parts from the Penny that currently exists, carrying the virus with them, and leaving only the human parts of Penny behind: her aura/soul. Then, the purely robot version is destroyed when Ambrosius creates something new.

Except... this new Penny, this human Penny, still needed a human body. That's what Ambrosius created and that's the snag I don't understand. They want a version of Penny that's just her aura, just her soul, but that soul still needs something to be housed in. Ambrosius himself notes that. At first I thought the group would just have some wisp-like version of Penny they'd have to find a new body for — perhaps leading to a new one for Ozpin too — but she's just... given a human body when he takes the technology away, something she absolutely didn't have before. That is Ambrosius' creation. That is what should have disappeared along with the removed parts of Penny, leaving only her soul — what Ambrosius didn't touch — behind. Instead, the plot oh so conveniently has Penny get a new body for free and it's untouched as they move onto the next task.

Ruby drops a casual line about Ambrosius not being able to kill, or destroy, or something, which I think is meant to be the justification here. The rule (which, again, we JUST learned) about not killing anyone supersedes the rule of two creations not allowed to exist, allowing Penny to stick around. But even if that’s true, it’s a load of bull. What, does the magic think no one in an entire city might die if the floating mechanism is removed and it plummets to the ground? Ambrosius didn’t say, “Sorry, can’t stop floating Atlas because thousands of people are still here and they’ll die if I create something new,” but we’re supposed to believe the group skated by on, “Sorry, can’t destroy the last creation like everything else because there’s a single person still using that body and she’ll die if I create something new”? 

Seriously, did I miss something? Or is this another, "Amity is ready because the group needs it" situation? The rule of creations ceasing to exist is bent because the group needs to have their friend around. Ambrosius is certainly enthusiastically complimentary, saying how "smart" the group is and that they've "done their homework," but I'm not so sure. It feels like a moment where the show is (once again) insistent that the group is far more talented and brilliant than their actions actually imply. It's only the rules of the world twisting and turning that allows for their success. To say nothing of how the episode dropped all these rules on the viewer in a ten minute info dump, ensuring we didn’t have any time to think about them before the deed was done. 

It doesn't add up for me and honestly, even putting that aside? I hate this. I absolutely despise it. Look, if it turns out this really does make sense then props to the group for coming up with that plan. Our snag aside, the rest is a legitimately well thought out wish. I don't have a problem with the execution so much as the message. I've been saying since Volume 7 that RWBY has done Penny a disservice in terms of her "real girl" narrative. Whereas before we had a firm message that you don't need "squishy guts" to be human, to be real, Volume 8 continued to carry us further and further into the idea that it is necessary. That Penny's body is entirely inhuman, something to hate, but at least her soul is human and good. That's what the virus arc taught us: your terrible, technological body might be betraying you, but hold onto the parts of you that are really human. I hated that too, but I never thought RWBY would go this far. They made Penny fully human and went, “THIS is the version that always should have existed.”

And this isn't just me reading into the implications. It's right there in the text. Blake says that they're looking for “Penny, the girl who’s always been there underneath." Meaning, underneath the metal. The girl exists trapped in the robot body. Yang holds up her arm and says that the metal is only "extra," it's not really who you are. 

That gets into two perspectives on disability that RWBY just doesn't have the nuance for: what's an integral and celebratory part of one person's existence can be seen as something separate and discomforting to another. Though there are many people with disabilities who would happily cure themselves with a magic Staff if given the chance, there are just as many who say no, this is a part of my identity. I don't want to change, I just want the world to accommodate my existence. However, RWBY takes a hard stance here, saying that any metal in your body is intrinsically bad. We didn’t use to have this take, but now the show has embraced it. Blake says the real Penny is trapped in there. Yang's words implies that she'd get rid of this "extra" bit of her if possible. Mercury with his metal legs is the enemy. Ironwood with half his metal body is the enemy. Whereas once difference was truly accepted, now it's shunned and fixed whenever possible. Those who can't be fixed, like Yang, must simply deal with the lot they've been dealt, reassuring themselves that the metal isn't really them. But Penny? Penny they can fix.

So they do and the very first thing Penny does is hug Ruby, exclaiming, “Do hugs always make you feel this warm inside? Wow. More!” and proceeds to hug all the others. 

What's the underlying message there? Penny didn't understand hugs before this moment. She never experienced the "warmth" of them while an android, despite the fact that here warmth is entirely metaphorical and has nothing to do with a literally cold body. RWBY really went and said that the "real girl” android was never actually real at all — not as real as she could be — because it's only when she's given "squishy guts" that she understands the true happiness of a hug.

Wow.

I mean seriously, wow. 

Never-mind that, you know, we've seen that happiness and warmth since she was first introduced.

RWBY is really rewriting all the core themes introduced in Volumes 1-3 and it sucks. The show is absolutely the worse for it.

To say nothing of all the other disservices to Penny's character here. There's all this buildup about whether she'll still be the same Penny once the wish is complete, but of course she is. We wouldn't want to have Penny struggle when she becomes something other than what she's always been, would we? After all, it took Yang an entire volume to work through the shock of a metal arm, but taking away a metal body for a human one is in no way traumatic. Having a normal, human body is intrinsically a good thing! Of course Penny accepts it with nothing but smiles. Becoming human is celebratory, but becoming more machine is a horror.

She gets to watch her body self-destruct, glitching out and collapsing in front of her. But again, nothing to unpack there that can't be covered with a hand over her mouth.

There's no discussion of whether Penny still has the Maiden powers, or whether a wish like that would mess with the transfer in any way. How did the group know this action wouldn't register as a clear-cut death, forcing the power out of her and into someone new? Obviously they couldn’t know, but no one even thought to bring it up? 

And the entire time they're formulating their evacuation plan, there's no talk of whether these portals will appear before everyone currently alive in the kingdom. I mean, if they do then Ironwood and Jacques can just waltz through and escape into Vacuo. If they don’t, then Maria and Pietro don't necessarily have a way out. We still don't know if they're stuck floating in Amity, or if Amity crashed, or if they made their way back to Mantle or Atlas. More importantly, the characters don't know. I have no problem with RWBY keeping that a surprise until the finale, but I absolutely take issue with Pietro's daughter walking through a portal, seemingly not to care whether her father is going to make it out too.

It's been the same with Qrow and his nieces' relationships. The show is good at insisting that these families love each other because they hug and smile while on screen together, but when shit is actually going down, none of them care about pesky things like disappearances, arrests, or “The last time I saw you, you were with an old woman on a damaged station after a villain attack, potentially stranded in deadly cold if life support failed.” 

So yeah, this entire arc with Penny has been a disaster. From throwing away her framing subplot, to giving her a virus that did absolutely nothing, to giving her the Maiden powers which she's also done nothing with, to erasing her android status for a “She's really human now” message, Penny has been done dirty by the show these last two volumes. Not nearly to the extent Ironwood has, but still. At this point I wish they'd just kept her dead dead. Why do I want her back when that resurrection produces no reaction, her conflicts lead nowhere, and one of the core things that made Penny Penny has now been magically erased?

I've been saying for weeks that killing Penny off and keeping Penny around each had serious downsides attached, yet I never expected RWBY to do BOTH.

Also, I'm warding off any, "But Pinocchio was made into a real boy too" defenses. RWBY is not Pinocchio. Penny is not Pinocchio. I thought the allusion was going to be the Pinocchio inspired girl heading into the whale, not the show forcing the exact plotline  —  down to a blue, magical creature — onto a character whose entire journey has been about accepting herself as an android. Congratulations, RT. You just obliterated years of work.

Again, if you'd like an example of how to do this far better:

As Penny's character falls apart, Atlas shakes, alerting Jaune and the other that a new wish has been granted. Jaune pecks at the screen and realizes "That did, uh, something…?” but doesn’t realize that there's a giant, red "LIVE" up in the corner.

Jaune tries to warn the entire kingdom about their plan, but what he actually says is

“Atlas is falling, but — !”

And then the communications cut out. 

Watts, perhaps?

Our heroes are really good at saying things that make large populaces panic, huh? This is the one (1) snag in their "impossible" plan, but as said above, it doesn't amount to anything. We get a shot of Nora, horrified at the thought of kingdom-wide communications being down, but literally seconds later Team RWBY has made portals appear that everyone can walk through. So... why do we care about communications? More importantly, why does the show try to make us care? So much time is spent getting the viewer invested in problems that never come to mean anything. 

Including the problem of Salem herself.

Because the group successfully creates that evacuation plan. This is it. Everyone is leaving while Salem still reforms. 

Yang asks if they can use the vaults themselves as a single point for everyone to go to and Ambrosius agrees. So everyone is going to pile into the Vacuo vault that can only be opened by an unknown Maiden? They're going to put an entire kingdom's worth of people, including their enemies, into the vault where the Relic of Destruction is? Yeah, that's great. Prior to this — like if this had been the plan at the end of Volume 7 — I would have 100% agreed that these risks are better than death by Salem/grimm/cold. Now though, Oscar as axed Salem for an unknown length of time, the cold is having no impact on the civilians outside, and the grimm only attack background military personnel that supposedly no one cares about. They couldn't have spent another few minutes (especially with time stopped!) to figure out a means of getting to Vacuo that doesn't involve revealing and providing access to the location of a super secret vault? To say nothing of what they're going to do if Salem wakes up and snags one of those portals for herself. Two kingdoms for the price of one!

But that's what they're going with. Weiss gives Ambrosius a schematic of the kingdom, I guess, and he makes branching pathways appear with numerous portals for everyone to step through. They'll enter through one and, when they exit another, will be in Vacuo. Easy peasy, right? Especially since Ambrosius doesn't seem to have any limitations about how often his power is used. Is it three creations every 100 years like Jinn? We're not told, at least not to my recollection. However, I was expecting there to be a waiting period, that they'd fix Penny, go to evacuate the kingdom, and learn that sorry, I can't make another creation just yet. It feels like the sort of shit move these beings would pull — "Don't cry to me when it's not what you wanted" —  it would have been another commentary on the group's insistence on putting friends over the people's safety (like demanding the Ace Ops not bomb the whale because of Oscar), and crucially, would have kept the action in Atlas. Isn't that what this volume is? The battle for and potential destruction of the Kingdom of Atlas? We have two episodes left and, unless something unexpected happens, we're moving that action to Vacuo. Why? 

Meanwhile, Penny's corpse is just chilling in the background 😬

While all this is going on, Winter reassures Jacques that he and Ironwood will be evacuated too, though she makes it clear saving him was Weiss' idea. It checks out, considering Weiss is the one who turned her father's arrest into a joke last volume. Winter still takes his abuse seriously.

The group prepares to leave with a celebratory, "We did it!" from Weiss. I'm still banging my head against that dining room table. Before they can pass through the portal though, Ambrosius leaves them with one, dire warning: "Do not fall." 

In any other story a line like that is a neon sign announcing to the audience that someone will absolutely fall, and maybe they will, but RWBY has dodged consequences so often I wouldn't be surprised if this was merely another way to string us along. Remember all the hype surrounding Salem? The cold combined with her army and magic? How she was going to decimate Atlas and leave our group broken in a Fall 2.0?

I mean, we still have two episodes left. Forty minutes of content. Salem might still decimate them, especially since something has to happen in the finale. But god, it's a problem that we've come this far without a payoff. Salem randomly decided not to attack anyone, was stopped by a weapon added in solely for this purpose, and now the whole kingdom is being evacuated with a plan the group could have used at the start. This volume really is meaningless. 

“We go to vacuo and hope we’ve thought of everything” they say as the camera zooms in on Cinder's smiling face. For the second week in a row.

Bingo time!

Winter betrayed Ironwood, the group used the Staff of Creation, and I'm axing Maria on behalf of Pietro. You can't have the guy's daughter become human — after he was killing himself to give her his aura?? — and magically walk to Vacuo, not knowing if he's even survived since she last saw him, and expect me to think he hasn't been forgotten. Same with Maria. Has the group mentioned her since Amity cut out, notably for reasons they couldn’t explain? Of course not. Did they care to find out what happened? Of course not. I have no doubt they'll both re-appear in the next two episodes, Pietro crying over how perfect his girl is now and Maria congratulating the group on their actions, but we're still marking it.

This is the ugliest thing I’ve ever created, I hope you all are enjoying it :D

Another week, another couple feet added to the hole we’re digging. I know I keep saying I have no idea what's going to happen next... but I have no idea what's going to happen next. A Vacuo ending was not in the cards, not outside of them miraculously showing up in ships. Maybe they have been on their way to Atlas (somehow...) and will arrive precisely when everyone has left! Anything is possible at this point.

See you next Saturday, everyone. Hold on until then lol. 💜

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #mymetas #rwby recaps #rwby creation

[grigori77]

Summer 2021′s Movies - My Top Ten Favourite Films (Part 2)

The Top Ten:

10.  WEREWOLVES WITHIN – definitely one of the year’s biggest cinematic surprises so far, this darkly comic supernatural murder mystery from indie horror director Josh Ruben (Scare Me) is based on a video game, but you’d never know it – this bears so little resemblance to the original Ubisoft title that it’s a wonder anyone even bothered to make the connection, but even so, this is now notable for officially being the highest rated video game adaptation in Rotten Tomatoes history, with a Certified Fresh rating of 86%. Certainly it deserves that distinction, but there’s so much more to the film – this is an absolute blood-splattered joy, the title telling you everything you need to know about the story but belying the film’s pure, quirky genius.  Veep’s Sam Richardson is forest ranger Finn Wheeler, a gentle and socially awkward soul who arrives at his new post in the remote small town of Beaverton to discover the few, uniformly weird residents are divided over the oil pipeline proposition of forceful and abrasive businessman Sam Parker (The Hunt’s Wayne Duvall).  As he tries to fit in and find his feet, investigating the disappearance of a local dog while bonding with local mail carrier Cecily Moore (Other Space and This Is Us’ Milana Vayntrub), the discovery of a horribly mutilated human body leads to a standoff between the townsfolk and an enforced lockdown in the town’s ramshackle hotel as they try to work out who amongst them is the “werewolf” they suspect is responsible.  This is frequently hilarious, the offbeat script from appropriately named Mishna Wolff (I’m Down) dropping some absolutely zingers and crafting some enjoyably weird encounters and unexpected twists, while the uniformly excellent cast do much of the heavy-lifting to bring their rich, thoroughly oddball characters to vivid life – Richardson is thoroughly cuddly throughout, while Duvall is pleasingly loathsome, Casual’s Michaela Watkins is pleasingly grating as Trisha, flaky housewife to unrepentant local horn-dog Pete Anderton (Orange is the New Black’s Michael Chernus), and Cheyenne Jackson (American Horror Story) and Harry Guillen (best known, OF COURSE, as Guillermo in the TV version of What We Do In the Shadows) make an enjoyably spiky double-act as liberal gay couple Devon and Joaquim Wolfson; in the end, though, the film is roundly stolen by Vayntrub, who invests Cecily with a bubbly sweetness and snarky sass that makes it absolutely impossible to not fall completely in love with her (gods know I did).  This is a deeply funny film, packed with proper belly-laughs from start to finish, but like all the best horror comedies it takes its horror elements seriously, delivering some enjoyably effective scares and juicy gore, while the werewolf itself, when finally revealed, is realised through some top-notch prosthetics.  Altogether this was a most welcome under-the-radar surprise for the summer, and SO MUCH MORE than just an unusually great video game adaptation …

9.  THE TOMORROW WAR – although cinemas finally reopened in the UK in early summer, the bite of the COVID lockdown backlog was still very much in effect this blockbuster season, with several studios preferring to hedge their bets and wait for later release dates. Others turned to streaming services, including Paramount, who happily lined up a few heavyweight titles to open on major platforms in lieu of the big screen.  One of the biggest was this intended sci-fi action horror tentpole, meant to give Chris Pratt another potential franchise on top of Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, which instead dropped in early July on Amazon Prime.  So, was it worth staying in on a Saturday night instead of heading out for something on the BIG screen?  Mostly yes, although it’s mainly a trashy, guilty pleasure big budget B-picture charm that makes this such a worthwhile experience – the film’s biggest influences are clearly Independence Day and Starship Troopers, two admirably clunky blockbusters that DEFINED prioritising big spectacle and overblown theatrics over intelligent writing and realistic storytelling.  It doesn’t help that the premise is pure bunk – in 2022, a wormhole opens from thirty years in the future, and a plea for help is sent back with a bunch of very young future soldiers.  Seems Earth will become overrun by an unstoppable swarm of nasty alien critters called Whitespikes in 25 years, and the desperate human counteroffensive have no choice but to bring soldiers from our present into the future to help them fight back and save the humanity from imminent extinction.  Less than a year later, the world’s standing armies have been decimated and a worldwide draft has been implemented, with normal everyday adults being sent through for a seven day tour from which very few return.  Pratt plays biology teacher and former Green Beret Dan Forrester, one of the latest batch of draftees to be sent into the future along with a selection of chefs, soccer moms and other average joes – his own training and experience serves him better than most when the shit hits the fan, but it soon becomes clear that he’s just as out of his depth as everyone else as the sheer enormity of the threat is revealed.  But when he becomes entangled with a desperate research outfit led by Muri (Chuck’s Yvonne Strahovski) who seem to be on the verge of a potential world-changing scientific breakthrough, Dan realises there just might be a slender hope for humanity after all … this is every bit as over-the-top gung-ho bonkers as it sounds, and just as much fun.  Director Chris McKay may still be pretty fresh (with only The Lego Batman Movie under his belt to date), but he shows a lot of talent and potential for big budget blockbuster filmmaking here, delivering with guts and bravado on some major action sequences (a fraught ticking-clock SAR operation through a war-torn Miami is the film’s undeniable highlight, but a desperate battle to escape a blazing oil rig also really impresses), as well as handling some impressively complex visual effects work and wrangling some quality performances from his cast (altogether it bodes well for his future, which includes Nightwing and Johnny Quest as future projects).  Chris Pratt can do this kind of stuff in his sleep – Dan is his classic fallible and self-deprecating but ultimately solid and kind-hearted action hero fare, effortlessly likeable and easy to root for – and his supporting cast are equally solid, Strahovsky going toe-to-toe with him in the action sequences while also creating a rewardingly complex smart-woman/badass combo in Muri, while the other real standouts include Sam Richardson (Veep, Werewolves Within) and Edwin Hodge (The Purge movies) as fellow draftees Charlie and Dorian, the former a scared-out-of-his-mind tech geek while the latter is a seriously hardcore veteran serving his THIRD TOUR, and the ever brilliant J.K. Simmonds as Dan’s emotionally scarred estranged Vietnam-vet father, Jim.  Sure, it’s derivative as hell and thoroughly predictable (with more than one big twist you can see coming a mile away), but the pace is brisk, the atmosphere pregnant with a palpable doomed urgency, and the creatures themselves are a genuinely convincing world-ending threat, the design team and visual effects wizards creating genuine nightmare fuel in the feral and unrelenting Whitespikes.  Altogether this WAS an ideal way to spend a comfy Saturday night in, but I think it could have been JUST AS GOOD for a Saturday night OUT at the Pictures …

8.  ARMY OF THE DEAD – another high profile release that went straight to streaming was this genuine monster hit for Netflix from one of this century’s undeniable heavyweight action cinema masters, the indomitable Zack Snyder, who kicked off his career with an audience-dividing (but, as far as I’m concerned, ultimately MASSIVELY successful) remake of George Romero’s immortal Dawn of the Dead, and has finally returned to zombie horror after close to two decades away.  The end result is, undeniably, the biggest cinematic guilty pleasure of the entire summer, a bona fide outbreak horror EPIC in spite of its tightly focused story – Dave Bautista plays mercenary Scott Ward, leader a badass squad of soldiers of fortune who were among the few to escape a deadly outbreak of a zombie virus in the city of Las Vegas, enlisted to break into the vault of one of the Strip’s casinos by owner Bly Tanaka (a fantastically game turn from Hiroyuki Sanada) and rescue $200 million still locked away inside.  So what’s the catch?  Vegas remains ground zero for the outbreak, walled off from the outside world but still heavily infested within, and in less than three days the US military intends to sterilise the site with a tactical nuke.  Simple premise, down and dirty, trashy flick, right?  Wrong – Snyder has never believed in doing things small, having brought us unapologetically BIG cinema with the likes of 300, Watchmen, Man of Steel and, most notably, his version of Justice League, so this is another MASSIVE undertaking, every scene shot for maximum thrills or emotional impact, each set-piece executed with his characteristic militaristic precision and explosive predilection (a harrowing fight for survival against a freshly-awakened zombie horde in tightly packed casino corridors is the film’s undeniable highlight), and the gauzy, dreamlike cinematography gives even simple scenes an intriguing and evocative edge that really does make you feel like you’re watching something BIG.  The characters all feel larger-than-life too – Bautista can seem somewhat cartoonish at times, and this role definitely plays that as a strength, making Scott a rock-hard alpha male in the classic Hollywood mould, but he’s such a great actor that of course he’s able to invest the character with real rewarding complexity beneath the surface; Ana de la Reguera (Eastbound & Down) and Nora Arnezeder (Zoo, Mozart in the Jungle), meanwhile, both bring a healthy dose of oestrogen-fuelled badassery to proceedings as, respectively, Scott’s regular second-in-command, Maria Cruz, and Lilly the Coyote, Power’s Omari Hardwick and Matthias Schweighofer (You Are Wanted) make for a fun odd-couple double act as circular-saw-wielding merc Vanderohe and Dieter, the nervous, nerdy German safecracker brought in to crack the vault, and Fear the Walking Dead’s Garrett Dillahunt channels spectacular scumbag energy as Tanaka’s sleazy former casino boss Martin, while latecomer Tig Notaro (Star Trek Discovery) effortlessly rises above her last-minute-casting controversy to deliver brilliantly as sassy and acerbic chopper pilot Peters.  I think it goes without saying that Snyder can do this in his sleep, but he definitely wasn’t napping here – he pulled out all the stops on this one, delivering a thrilling, darkly comic and endearingly CRACKERS zombie flick that not only compares favourably to his own Dawn but is, undeniably, his best film for AGES.  Netflix certainly seem to be pleased with the results – a spinoff prequel, Army of Thieves, starring Dieter in another heist thriller, is set to drop in October, with an animated series following in the Spring, and there’s already rumours of a sequel in development.  I’m certainly up for more …

7.  BLACK WIDOW – no major blockbuster property was hit harder by COVID than the MCU, which saw its ENTIRE SLATE for 2020 delayed for over a year in the face of Marvel Studios bowing to the inevitability of the Pandemic and unwilling to sacrifice those all-important box-office receipts by just sending their films straight to streaming.  The most frustrating part for hardcore fans of the series was the delay of a standalone film that was already criminally overdue – the solo headlining vehicle of founding Avenger and bona fide female superhero ICON Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow.  Equally frustratingly, then, this film seems set to be overshadowed by real life controversy as star and producer Scarlett Johansson goes head-to-head with Disney in civil court over their breach-of-contract after they hedged their bets by releasing the film simultaneously in cinemas and on their own streaming platform, which has led to poor box office as many of the film’s potential audience chose to watch it at home instead of risk movie theatres with the virus still very much remaining a threat (and Disney have clearly reacted AGAIN, now backtracking on their release policy by instigating a new 45-day cinematic exclusivity window on all their big releases for the immediate future). But what of the film itself?  Well Black Widow is an interesting piece of work, director Cate Shortland (Berlin Syndrome) and screenwriter Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok) delivering a decidedly stripped-back, lean and intellectual beast that bears greater resemblance to the more cerebral work of the Russo Brothers on their Captain America films than the more classically bombastic likes of Iron Man, Thor or the Avengers flicks, concentrating on story and characters over action and spectacle as we wind back the clock to before the events of Infinity War and Endgame, when Romanoff was on the run after Civil War, hunted by the government-appointed forces of US Secretary of State “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) after violating the Sokovia Accords.  Then a mysterious delivery throws her back into the fray as she finds herself targeted by a mysterious assassin, forcing her to team up with her estranged “sister” Yelena Belova (Midsommar’s Florence Pugh), another Black Widow who’s just gone rogue from the same Red Room Natasha escaped years ago, armed with a McGuffin capable of foiling a dastardly plot for world domination.  The reluctant duo need help in this endeavour though, enlisting the aid of their former “parents”, veteran Widow and scientist Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz) and Alexie Shostakov (Stranger Things’ David Harbour), aka the Red Guardian, a Russian super-soldier intended to be their counterpart to Captain America, who’s been languishing in a Siberian gulag for the last twenty years. After the Earth-shaking, universe-changing events of recent MCU events, this film certainly feels like a much more self-contained, modest affair, playing for much smaller stakes, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less worthy of our attention – this is as precision-crafted as anything we’ve seen from Marvel so far, but it also feels like a refreshing change of pace after all those enormous cosmic shenanigans, while the script is as tight as a drum, propelling a taut, suspense-filled thriller that certainly doesn’t scrimp on the action front.  Sure, the set-pieces are very much in service of the story here, but they’re still the pre-requisite MCU rollercoaster rides, a selection of breathless chases and bone-crunching fights that really do play to the strengths of one of our favourite Avengers, but this is definitely one of those films where the real fireworks come when the film focuses on the characters – Johansson is so comfortable with her character she’s basically BECOME Natasha Romanoff, kickass and ruthless and complex and sassy and still just desperate for a family (though she hides it well throughout the film), while Weisz delivers one of her best performances in years as a peerless professional who keeps her emotions tightly reigned in but slowly comes to realise that she was never more happy than when she was pretending to be a simple mother, and Ray Winstone does a genuinely fantastic job of taking a character who could have been one of the MCU’s most disappointingly bland villains, General Dreykov, master of the Red Room, and investing him with enough oily charisma and intense presence to craft something truly memorable (frustratingly, the same cannot be said for the film’s supposed main physical threat, Taskmaster, who performs well in their frustratingly brief appearances but ultimately gets Darth Maul levels of short service).  The true scene-stealers in the film, however, are Alexie and Yelena – Harbour’s clearly having the time of his life hamming it up as a self-important, puffed-up peacock of a superhero who never got his shot and is clearly (rightly) decidedly bitter about it, preferring to relive the life he SHOULD have had instead of remembering the good in the one he got; Pugh, meanwhile, is THE BEST THING IN THE WHOLE MOVIE, easily matching Johanssen scene-for-scene in the action stakes but frequently out-performing her when it comes to acting, investing Yelena with a sweet naivety and innocence and a certain amount of quirky geekiness that makes for one of the year’s most endearing female protagonists (certainly one who, if the character goes the way I think she will, is thoroughly capable of carrying the torch for the foreseeable future).  In the end this is definitely one of the LEAST typical, by-the-numbers MCU films to date, and by delivering something a little different I think they’ve given us just the kind of leftfield swerve the series needs right now.  It’s certainly one of their most fascinating and rewarding films so far, and since it seems to be Johansson’s final tour of duty as the Black Widow, it’s also a most fitting farewell indeed.

6.  WRATH OF MAN – Guy Ritchie’s latest (regarded by many as a triumphant return to form, which I consider unfair since I don’t think he ever went away, especially after 2020’s spectacular The Gentlemen) is BY FAR his darkest film – let’s get this clear from the start.  Anyone who knows his work knows that Ritchie consistently maintains a near flawless balance and humour and seriousness in his films that gives them a welcome quirkiness that is one of his most distinctive trademarks, so for him to suddenly deliver a film which takes itself SO SERIOUSLY is one hell of a departure.  This is a film which almost REVELS in its darkness – Ritchie’s always loved bathing in man’s baser instincts, but Wrath of Man almost makes a kind of twisted VIRTUE out of wallowing in the genuine evils that men are capable of inflicting on each other.  The film certainly kicks off as it means to go on – In a tour-de-force single-shot opening, we watch a daring armoured car robbery on the streets of Los Angeles that goes horrifically wrong, an event which will have devastating consequences in the future.  Five months later, Fortico Security hires taciturn Brit Patrick Hill (Jason Statham) to work as a guard in one of their trucks, and on his first run he single-handedly foils another attempted robbery with genuinely uncanny combat skills. The company is thrilled, amazed by the sheer ability of their new hire, but Hill’s new colleagues are more concerned, wondering exactly what they’ve let themselves in for.  After a second foiled robbery, it becomes clear that Hill’s reputation has grown, but fellow guard Haiden (Holt McCallany), aka “Bullet”, begins to suspect there might be something darker going on … Ritchie is firing on all cylinders here, delivering a PERFECT slow-burn suspense thriller which plays its cards close to its chest and cranks up its piano wire tension with artful skill as it builds to a devastating, knuckle-whitening explosive heist that acts as a cathartic release for everything that’s built up over the past hour and a half.  In typical Ritchie style the narrative is non-linear, the story unfolding in four distinct parts told from clearly differentiated points of view, allowing the clues to be revealed at a trickle that effortlessly draws the viewer in as they fall deeper down the rabbit hole, leading to a harrowing but strangely poignant denouement which is perfectly in tune with everything that’s come before. It’s an immense pleasure finally getting to see Statham working with Ritchie again, and I don’t think he’s ever been better than he is here – he's always been a brilliantly understated actor, but there’s SO MUCH going on under Hill’s supposedly impenetrable calm that every little peek beneath the armour is a REVELATION; McCallany, meanwhile, has landed his best role since his short but VERY sweet supporting turn in Fight Club, seemingly likeable and fallible as the kind of easy-going co-worker anyone in the service industry would be THRILLED to have, but giving Bullet far more going on under the surface, while there are uniformly excellent performances from a top-shelf ensemble supporting cast which includes Josh Hartnett, Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice, Sicario), Andy Garcia, Laz Alonso (The Boys), Eddie Marsan, Niamh Algar (Raised By Wolves) and Darrell D’Silva (Informer, Domina), and a particularly edgy and intense turn from Scott Eastwood.  This is one of THE BEST thrillers of the year, by far, a masterpiece of mood, pace and plot that ensnares the viewer from its gripping opening and hooks them right up to the close, a triumph of the genre and EASILY Guy Ritchie’s best film since Snatch.  Regardless of whether or not it’s a RETURN to form, we can only hope he continues to deliver fare THIS GOOD in the future …

5.  FEAR STREET (PARTS 1-3) – Netflix have gotten increasingly ambitious with their original filmmaking over the years, and some of this years’ offerings have reached new heights of epic intention.  Their most exciting release of the summer was this adaptation of popular children’s horror author R.L. Stine’s popular book series, a truly gargantuan undertaking as the filmmakers set out to create an entire TRILOGY of films which were then released over three consecutive weekends.  Interestingly, these films are most definitely NOT for kids – this is proper, no-holds-barred supernatural slasher horror, delivering highly calibrated shocks and precision jump scares, a pervading atmosphere of insidious dread and a series of inventively gruesome kills.  The story revolves around two neighbouring small towns which have had vastly different fortunes over more than three centuries of existence – while the residents of Sunnyvale are unusually successful, living idyllic lives in peace and prosperity, luck has always been against the people of Shadyside, who languish in impoverishment, crime and misfortune, while the town has become known as the Murder Capital of the USA due to frequent spree killings.  Some attribute this to the supposed curse of a local urban legend, Sarah Fier, who became known as the Fier Witch after her execution for witchcraft in 1668, but others dismiss this as simple superstition.  Part 1 is set in 1994, as the latest outbreak of serial mayhem begins in Shadyside, dragging a small group of local teens – Deena Johnson (She Never Died’s Kiana Madeira) and Samantha Fraser (Olivia Scott Welch), a young lesbian couple going through a difficult breakup, Deena’s little brother Josh (The Haunted Hathaways’ Benjamin Flores Jr.), a nerdy history geek who spends most of his time playing video games or frequenting violent crime-buff online chatrooms, and their delinquent friends Simon (Eight Grade’s Fred Hechinger) and Kate (Julia Rehwald) – into the age-old ghostly conspiracy as they find themselves besieged by indestructible undead serial killers from the town’s past, reasoning that the only way they can escape with their lives is to solve the mystery and bring the Fier Witch some much needed closure.  Part 2, meanwhile, flashes back to a previous outbreak in 1977, in which local sisters Ziggy (Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink) and Cindy Berman (Emily Rudd), together with future Sunnyvale sheriff Nick Goode (Ted Sutherland) were among the kids hunted by said killers during a summer camp “colour war”.  As for Part 3, that goes all the way back to 1668 to tell the story of what REALLY happened to Sarah Fier, before wrapping up events in 1994, culminating in a terrifying, adrenaline-fuelled showdown in the Shadyside Mall.  Throughout, the youthful cast are EXCEPTIONAL, Madeira, Welch, Flores Jr., Sink and Rudd particularly impressing, while there are equally strong turns from Ashley Zuckerman (The Code, Designated Survivor) and Community’s Gillian Jacobs as the grown-up versions of two key ’77 kids, and a fun cameo from Maya Hawke in Part 1.  This is most definitely retro horror in the Stranger Things mould, perfectly executed period detail bringing fun nostalgic flavour to all three of the timelines while the peerless direction from Leigh Janiak (Honeymoon) and wire-tight, sharp-witted screenplays from Janiak, Kyle Killen (Lone Star, The Beaver), Phil Graziadel, Zak Olkewicz and Kate Trefry strike a perfect balance between knowing dark humour and knife-edged terror, as well as weaving an intriguingly complex narrative web that pulls the viewer in but never loses them to overcomplication.  The design, meanwhile, is evocative, the cinematography (from Stanger Things’ Caleb Heymann) is daring and magnificently moody, and the killers and other supernatural elements of the film are handled with skill through largely physical effects.  This is definitely not a standard, by-the-numbers slasher property, paying strong homage to the sub-genre’s rules but frequently subverting them with expert skill, and it’s as much fun as it is frightening.  Give us some more like this please, Netflix!

4.  THE SPARKS BROTHERS – those who’ve been following my reviews for a while will known that while I do sometimes shout about documentary films, they tend to show up in my runners-up lists – it’s a great rarity for one to land in one of my top tens.  This lovingly crafted deep-dive homage to cult band Sparks, from self-confessed rabid fanboy Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim), is something VERY SPECIAL INDEED, then … there’s a vague possibility some of you may have heard the name before, and many of you will know at least one or two of their biggest hits without knowing it was them (their greatest hit of all time, This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us, immediately springs to mind), but unless you’re REALLY serious about music it’s quite likely you have no idea who they are, namely two brothers from California, Russell and Ronald Mael, who formed a very sophisticated pop-rock band in the late 60s and then never really went away, having moments of fame but mostly working away in the background and influencing some of the greatest bands and musical artists that followed them, even if many never even knew where that influence originally came from. Wright’s film is an engrossing joy from start to finish (despite clocking in at two hours and twenty minutes), following their eclectic career from obscure inception as Halfnelson, through their first real big break with third album Kimono My Place, subsequent success and then fall from popularity in the mid-70s, through several subsequent revitalisations, all the way up to the present day with their long-awaited cinematic breakthrough, revolutionary musical feature Annette – throughout Wright keeps the tone light and the pace breezy, allowing a strong and endearing sense of irreverence to rule the day as fans, friends and the brothers themselves offer up fun anecdotes and wax lyrical about what is frequently a larger-than-life tragicomic soap opera, utilising fun, crappy animation and idiosyncratic stock footage inserts alongside talking-head interviews that were made with a decidedly tongue-in-cheek style – Mike Myers good-naturedly rants about how we can see his “damned mole” while 80s New Romantic icons Nick Rhodes and John Taylor, while shot together, are each individually labelled as “Duran”.  Ron and Russ themselves, meanwhile, are clearly having huge fun, gently ribbing each other and dropping some fun deadpan zingers throughout proceedings, easily playing to the band’s strong, idiosyncratic sense of hyper-intelligent humour, while the aforementioned celebrity talking-heads are just three amongst a whole wealth of famous faces that may surprise you – there’s even an appearance by Neil Gaiman, guys!  Altogether this is 2+ hours of bright and breezy fun chock full of great music and fascinating information, and even hardcore Sparks fans are likely to learn more than a little over the course of the film, while for those who have never heard of Sparks before it’s a FANTASTIC introduction to one of the greatest ever bands that you’ve never heard of.  With luck there might even be more than a few new fans before the year is out …

3.  GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE – Netflix’ BEST offering of the summer was this surprise hit from Israeli writer-director Navot Papushado (Rabies, Big Bad Wolves), a heavily stylised black comedy action thriller that passes the Bechdel Test with FLYING COLOURS.  Playing like a female-centric John Wick, it follows ice-cold, on-top-of-her-game assassin Sam (Karen Gillan) as her latest assignment has some unfortunate side effects, leading her to take on a reparation job to retrieve some missing cash for the local branch of the Irish Mob.  The only catch is that a group of thugs have kidnapped the original thief’s little girl, 12 year-old Emily (My Spy’s Chloe Coleman), and Sam, in an uncharacteristic moment of sympathy, decides to intervene, only for the money to be accidentally destroyed in the process.  Now she’s got the Mob and her own employers coming after her, and she not only has to save her own skin but also Emily’s, leading her to seek help from the one person she thought she might never see again – her mother, Scarlet (Lena Headey), a master assassin in her own right who’s been hiding from the Mob herself for years.  The plot may be simple but at times also a little over-the-top, but the film is never anything less than a pure, unadulterated pleasure, populated with fascinating, living and breathing characters of real complexity and nuance, while the script (co-written by relative newcomer Ehud Lavski) is tightly-reined and bursting with zingers.  Most importantly, though, Papushado really delivers on the action front – these are some of the best set-pieces I’ve seen this year, Gillan, her co-stars and the various stunt-performers acquitting themselves admirably in a series of spectacular fights, gun battles and a particularly imaginative car chase that would be the envy of many larger, more expensive productions.  Gillan and Coleman have a sweet, awkward chemistry, the MCU star particularly impressing in a subtly nuanced performance that also plays beautifully against Headey’s own tightly controlled turn, while there is awesome support from Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh and Carla Gugino as Sam’s adoptive aunts Anna May, Florence and Madeleine, a trio of “librarians” who run a fine side-line in illicit weaponry and are capable of unleashing some spectacular violence of their own; the film’s antagonists, on the other hand, are exclusively masculine – the mighty Ralph Inneson is quietly ruthless as Irish boss Jim McAlester, while The Terror’s Adam Nagaitis is considerably more mercurial as his mad dog nephew Virgil, and Paul Giamatti is the stately calm at the centre of the storm as Sam’s employer Nathan, the closest thing she has to a father.  There’s so much to enjoy in this movie, not just the wonderful characters and amazing action but also the singularly engrossing and idiosyncratic style, deeply affecting themes of the bonds of found family and the healing power of forgiveness, and a rewarding through-line of strong women triumphing against the brutalities of toxic masculinity.  I love this film, and I invite you to try it out, cuz I’m sure you will too.

2.  THE SUICIDE SQUAD – the most fun I’ve had at the cinema so far this year is the long-awaited (thanks a bunch, COVID) redress of another frustrating imbalance from the decidedly hit and miss DCEU superhero franchise, in which Guardians of the Galaxy writer-director James Gunn has finally delivered a PROPER Suicide Squad movie after David Ayer’s painfully compromised first stab at the property back in 2016.  That movie was enjoyable enough and had some great moments, but ultimately it was a clunky mess, and while some of the characters were done (quite) well, others were painfully botched, even ruined entirely.  Thankfully Warner Bros. clearly learned their lesson, giving Gunn free reign to do whatever he wanted, and the end result is about as close to perfect as the DCEU has come to date.  Once again the peerless Viola Davis plays US government official Amanda Waller, head of ARGUS and the undisputable most evil bitch in all the DC Universe, who presides over the metahuman prisoners of the notorious supermax Belle Reve Prison, cherry-picking inmates for her pet project Taskforce X, the titular Suicide Squad sent out to handle the kind of jobs nobody else wants, in exchange for years off their sentences but controlled by explosive implants injected into the base of their skulls.  Their latest mission sees another motley crew of D-bags dispatched to the fictional South African island nation of Corto Maltese to infiltrate Jotunheim, a former Nazi facility in which a dangerous extra-terrestrial entity that’s being developed into a fearful bioweapon, with orders to destroy the project in order to keep it out of the hands of a hostile anti-American regime which has taken control of the island through a violent coup.  Where the first Squad felt like a clumsily-arranged selection of stereotypes with a few genuinely promising characters unsuccessfully moulded into a decidedly forced found family, this new batch are convincingly organic – they may be dysfunctional and they’re all almost universally definitely BAD GUYS, but they WORK, the relationship dynamics that form between them feeling genuinely earned.  Gunn has already proven himself a master of putting a bunch of A-holes together and forging them into band of “heroes”, and he’s certainly pulled the job off again here, dredging the bottom of the DC Rogues Gallery for its most ridiculous Z-listers and somehow managing to make them compelling.  Sure, returning Squad-member Harley Quinn (the incomparable Margot Robbie, magnificent as ever) has already become a fully-realised character thanks to Birds of Prey, so there wasn’t much heavy-lifting to be done here, but Gunn genuinely seems to GET the character, so our favourite pixie-esque Agent of Chaos is an unbridled and thoroughly unpredictable joy here, while fellow veteran Colonel Rick Flagg (a particularly muscular and thoroughly game Joel Kinnaman) has this time received a much needed makeover, Gunn promoting him from being the first film’s sketchily-drawn “Captain Exposition” and turning him into a fully-ledged, well-thought-out human being with all the requisite baggage, including a newfound sense of humour; the newcomers, meanwhile, are a thoroughly fascinating bunch – reluctant “leader” Bloodsport/Robert DuBois (a typically robust and playful Idris Elba), unapologetic douchebag Peacemaker/Christopher Smith (probably the best performance I’ve EVER seen John Cena deliver), and socially awkward and seriously hard-done-by nerd (and by far the most idiotic DC villain of all time) the Polka-Dot Man/Abner Krill (a genuinely heart-breaking hangdog performance from Ant-Man’s David Dastmalchian); meanwhile there’s a fine trio of villainous turns from the film’s resident Big Bads, with Juan Diego Botta (Good Behaviour) and Joaquin Cosio (Quantum of Solace, Narcos: Mexico) making strong impressions as newly-installed dictator Silvio Luna and his corrupt right hand-man General Suarez, although both are EASILY eclipsed by the typically brilliant Peter Capaldi as louche and quietly deranged supervillain The Thinker/Gaius Greives (although the film’s ULTIMATE threat turns out to be something a whole lot bigger and more exotic). The film is ROUNDLY STOLEN, however, by a truly adorable double act (or TRIPLE act, if you want to get technical) – Daniella Melchior makes her breakthrough here in fine style as sweet, principled and kind-hearted narcoleptic second-generation supervillain Ratcatcher II/Cleo Cazo, who has the weird ability to control rats (and who has a pet rat named Sebastian who frequently steals scenes all on his own), while a particular fan-favourite B-lister makes his big screen debut here in the form of King Shark/Nanaue, a barely sentient anthropomorphic Great White “shark god” with an insatiable appetite for flesh and a naturally quizzical nature who was brilliantly mo-capped by Steve Agee (The Sarah Silverman Project, who also plays Waller’s hyperactive assistant John Economos) but then artfully completed with an ingenious vocal turn from Sylvester Stallone. James Gunn has crafted an absolute MASTERPIECE here, EASILY the best film he’s made to date, a riotous cavalcade of exquisitely observed and perfectly delivered dark humour and expertly wrangled narrative chaos that has great fun playing with the narrative flow, injects countless spot-on in-jokes and irreverent but utterly essential throwaway sight-gags, and totally endears us to this glorious gang of utter morons right from the start (in which Gunn delivers what has to be one of the most skilful deep-fakes in cinematic history).  Sure, there’s also plenty of action, and it’s executed with the kind of consummate skill we’ve now come to expect from Gunn (the absolute highlight is a wonderfully bonkers sequence in which Harley expertly rescues herself from captivity), but like everything else it’s predominantly played for laughs, and there’s no getting away from the fact that this film is an absolute RIOT.  By far the funniest thing I’ve seen so far this year, and if I’m honest this is the best of the DCEU offerings to date, too (for me, only the exceptional Birds of Prey can compare) – if Warner Bros. have any sense they’ll give Gunn more to do VERY SOON …

1.  A QUIET PLACE, PART II – while UK cinemas finally reopened in early May, I was determined that my first trip back to the Big Screen for 2021 was gonna be something SPECIAL, and indeed I already knew what that was going to be. Thankfully I was not disappointed by my choice – 2018’s A Quiet Place was MY VERY FAVOURITE horror movie of the 2010s, an undeniable masterclass in suspense and sustained screen terror wrapped around a refreshingly original killer concept, and I was among the many fans hoping we’d see more in the future, especially after the film’s teasingly open ending.  Against the odds (or perhaps not), writer-director/co-star John Krasinski has pulled off the seemingly impossible task of not only following up that high-wire act, but genuinely EQUALLING it in levels of quality – picking up RIGHT where the first film left off (at least after an AMAZING scene-setting opening in which we’re treated to the events of Day 1 of the downfall of humanity), rejoining the remnants of the Abbott family as they’re forced by circumstances to up-sticks from their idyllic farmhouse home and strike out into the outside world once more, painfully aware at all times that they must maintain perfect silence to avoid the ravenous attentions of the lethal blind alien beasties that now sit at the top of the food chain.  Circumstances quickly become dire, however, and embattled mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt) is forced to ally herself with estranged family friend Emmett (Cillian Murphy), now a haunted, desperate vagrant eking out a perilous existence in an abandoned factory, in order to safeguard the future of her children Regan (Millicent Simmonds), Marcus (Noah Jupe) and their newborn baby brother.  Regan, however, discovers evidence of more survivors, and with her newfound weapon against the aliens she recklessly decides to set off on her own in the hopes of aiding them before it’s too late … it may only be his second major blockbuster as a director, but Krasinski has once again proven he’s a true heavyweight talent, effortlessly carving out fresh ground in this already magnificently well-realised dystopian universe while also playing magnificently to the established strengths of what came before, delivering another peerless thrill-ride of unbearable tension and knuckle-whitening terror.  The central principle of utilising sound at a very strict premium is once again strictly adhered to here, available sources of dialogue once again exploited with consummate skill while sound design and score (another moody triumph from Marco Beltrami) again become THE MOST IMPORTANT aspects of the whole production. The ruined world is once again realised beautifully throughout, most notably in the nightmarish environment of a wrecked commuter train, and Krasinski cranks up the tension before unleashing it in merciless explosions in a selection of harrowing encounters which guaranteed to leave viewers in a puddle of sweat.  The director mostly stays behind the camera this time round, but he does (obviously) put in an appearance in the opening flashback as the late Lee Abbott, making a potent impression which leaves a haunting absence that’s keenly felt throughout the remainder of the film, while Blunt continues to display mother lion ferocity as she fights to keep her children safe and Jupe plays crippling fear magnificently but is now starting to show a hidden spine of steel as Marcus finally starts to find his courage; the film once again belongs, however, to Simmonds, the young deaf actress once and for all proving she’s a genuine star in the making as she invests Regan with fierce wilfulness and stubborn determination that remains unshakeable even in the face of unspeakable horrors, and the relationship she develops with Emmett, reluctant as it may be, provides a strong new emotional focus for the story, Murphy bringing an attractive wounded humanity to his role as a man who’s lost anything and is being forced to learn to care for something again.  This is another triumph of the genre AND the artform in general, a masterpiece of atmosphere, performance and storytelling which builds magnificently on the skilful foundations laid by the first film, as well as setting things up perfectly for a third instalment which is all but certain to follow.  I definitely can’t wait.

#movies 2021 #werewolves within #werewolves within movie #the tomorrow war #army of the dead #Black Widow #black widow movie #black widow mcu #wrath of man #fear street #fear street trilogy #fear street movies #The Sparks Brothers #gunpowder milkshake #the suicide squad #a quiet place part ii #a quiet place part 2 #awesome sauce

[mushroommushy]

Enter Bunnix

Pharaoh

“What’s this? Nora Cesaire and Alix Kubdel sprinting full tilt towards the local university with baseball bats?”

- The episode still starts with Alya doing the Ladyblog live stream with her following the team for the day

- Ladybug is screaming for help as she desperately hangs off the helicopter as Bunnix and Chat chase her

- Ladybug drops her history notes

- It’s not the actual textbook, but a purse filled with actual notes

- Thankfully none of them had her name on them or school

- Alya was still super excited, stating this was the same subjects she was studying

- And wondering if Ladybug was in the same grade or school as her

- Alix was a bit nervous about Alya’s curiosity, as it may lead to her getting in trouble

- Especially if Hawkmoth were to see it and get closer to Ladybug’s identity

- Marinette was of course panicking and Tikki suggests going to the museum with Alya and being able to potentially get her notes back

- They managed to meet up with Alix when they entered the Louvre, who had an idea on why they were there

- Alix was getting her dad to show them around the Egyptian exhibit when Jalil walked past, looking pretty upset

- Mari and Alya noticed that and was slightly concerned, especially when they heard a few other guys jeering at him

- Alim wasn’t very amused with this

Alim: All three of you boys! Knock it off and leave my son alone!

- They thankfully left Jalil alone, but he was already gone, having went to the Kubdels apartment

Alim: Alix, sweetie. Please go check on your brother.

- Alix had quickly left Alya and Mari with her dad to go make sure her brother was alright

- Alya was a little bit surprised to learn that Alix has a brother but Mari already knew

- Alim smiled, stating that both siblings were very close with each other

- She found him in his room, forcing himself not to cry

Alix: Hey, it’s alright. Those dicks don’t know what they are talking about.

Jalil, with his head on his knees: They threw rocks at me. Said I wasn’t a real historian.

Alix: Exactly what I said. Dicks. They’re just jealous that they don’t get the same privileges you do!

- The butterfly was already sent out to akumatize him though, much to Alix’s panic as it landed in his pendent

- Alix desperately clung to her brother in an attempt to calm him down but it wasn’t enough and he was akumatized into Pharaoh

- Pharaoh was less of an ancient figure this time but more of an akumatized Jalil

- He still vaguely cared about Alix since she was just trying to help

- He didn’t try to hurt her, just looking at her for a moment before hugging her and leaving to hunt down his bullies

- She quickly transformed into Bunnix, rushing after him as time bubbles were thrown all over the area

- She had to stop herself from calling out her brothers name

- Marinette was still panicking and trying to find anything that looked like Ladybug on the papyrus to distract Alya when both were tackled down as yellow bubbles flew over them

Marinette: wHAT THE-

Bunnix: Sorry both of you, but you guys need to get out of here! It isn’t safe.

Alya, fangirling immediately: Bunnix!! Can I get an interview!?

Marinette: IS NOW REALLY THE TIME TO BE DOING THIS??

- Alya is recording already on the Ladyblog

- Adrien sees the livestream and immediately runs off to the Louvre to fight

- He was worried about how Alix would take fighting her brother though as that’s not the best thing for your mental health

- Bunnix is very much ready to kick Hawkmoth’s ass for taking advantage of her brother

- Also about the fact he fucked up the gods powers

- Alim is barely dodging time bubbles and since that’s her father, Bunnix took first priority in getting him to safety

Bunnix: Don’t worry, me and the team will save your son.

Alim: How did you know he’s my son?

Bunnix, sweating: Just a guess by how worried you look.

- Alim does think she looks awfully familiar to him but before he can get a better look she rushes off

- She really wanted to hug him, since she was terrified

- She’s a super hero but she’s still a 15 year old whose about to be forced to fight her brother

- Pharaoh isn’t focused on reviving anyone, as he mostly is after the people who made fun of him

- Bunnix is really reluctant on saving them and lets Pharaoh drag them around a little bit

- Ladybug bonked her on the head for that but honestly didn’t blame her

- When Chat arrived, Pharaoh had the bullies trapped in time bubbles and was throwing them around

- But he checked on Bunnix first

Chat Noir: Hey, do you wanna sit this one out? We completely understand if you don’t wanna fight him, since he’s your brother.

Bunnix: No, no it’s fine. I can handle it. Hopefully.

- Pharaoh eventually got bored of throwing his bullies around and threw them out of the area

- That’s when he started focusing on the hero’s

- He threw Ladybug around the exhibit like a rag doll for a little bit

- He was mostly interested in attacking Bunnix, much to her dismay

Pharaoh: With your abilities, I would be the best historian on Earth! Hand over your miraculous!

- Bunnix had run off momentarily to trigger the security gates, but that didn’t do much with his super strength being able to break them open

- He trapped them inside the Egyptian section and Chat had to use up his cataclysm to break out the bars

- Chat ran off for a little bit to detransform

- Pharaoh was already outside, gathering an army of mummies to attack them with

- Ladybug ended up getting stuck in another time bubble

- Bunnix may or may not have recorded it since she found it pretty damn funny

- Plagg was commenting on how Pharaoh should be worshipping Chat since most Egyptians saw cats as royalty

- Chat got back to Bunnix using her umbrella to break the bubble

Bunnix: I swear that I got cheated out of a weapon.

Chat: I mean, it’s a shield and a sword?

Bunnix: Never thought a yo-yo would be that good of a weapon to be honest. But proves me wrong I guess.

- Alya had to do a double take thinking that Ladybug was literally an ancient goddess after she saw it on the papyrus

- She wasn’t with Pharaoh she was back inside with Alim, still live streaming

- Bunnix already knew that it was just a past ladybug user since Marinette is not that old

Bunnix: Wow, you are immature for your age. *Gets bonked*

- Cue Chat snorting and casually flirting with both of them at once

- This is when Pharaoh ended up hearing them and used his shock waves

- Bunnix ended up huddled on the ground for a moment, ears flat against her head

- Chat’s ears were also flicking in annoyance but he wasn’t as bothered as she was at the noise

- Hawkmoth was already shouting quite loudly in Pharaoh’s ear to deafen them with his sound waves

- Pharaoh wasn’t very amused with this and snapped at him to shut up

- Ladybug didn’t really wanna make Bunnix attack her brother head on so she got her and Chat to distract the mummies

- The mummies didn’t really care about Bunnix however, as Pharaoh wanted her miraculous the most

- The repeated soundwaves were slowing her down a lot, making her disoriented and clumsy with the loud noises and ringing in her ears

- To her it sounded like multiple bangs going off all at the same time

- Luckily she stores her miraculous in a pocket so it’s harder for him to reach

- Both of her team mates had noticed this and told her to get back inside with burrow

Ladybug: Bunnix, get out of there now! This is too much for you!

- Thankfully for them she listened and hopped back inside the Louvre near Alim and Alya

- She was clearly distressed about this particular Akuma which was taken note of by Alya

- She still didn’t see much wrong with learning the identities of hero’s

- Seeing an upset child has triggered Alim’s parental instincts however, and he was trying his best to cheer her up while Ladybug and Chat continued fighting Pharaoh

- Alya was still live streaming, sitting next to Bunnix

- She really wanted to ask questions but since Bunnix didn’t seem to be feeling that well she didn’t prod

- But she did ask Bunnix if she knew where the Akuma was, to which she stated it was most likely in the pendent around his neck

- That’s when Alim realized that he had sent Alix after Jalil right before he was akumatized and panicked immediately and left to go to his apartment

- Alya of course followed after him since Alix is her friend and she wanted to make sure she wasn’t hurt

- Bunnix was cursing like a mad man because she couldn’t really be in two places at once and Alim didn’t want her to be left alone in case Pharaoh came back

- He was extremely worried when they got to the apartment and Alix wasn’t there

Alim, extremely worried: Alix?! Alix you can come out! It’s dad!

Alya, whose also trying to find her and recording: Alix? Are you here?

Bunnix, sweating: Maybe she’s a mummy?

- She wasn’t able to sneak away to detransform so she just has to make up some bullshit about why Alix might not be there

- Pharaoh still tossed Ladybug off the building

- Cue Alim and Bunnix swearing about Hawkmoth not getting the powers right

- Alim wasn’t expecting her to know that

Alim: Wait a minute- You know about this stuff?

Bunnix: …My power is time travel?

Alim: Fair.

- Ladybug jokingly being offended about being called an insect

- The bullies still have the nerve to insult an akuma and get thrown across Paris

- None of the hero’s really gave a shit because if your that dumb natural selection was coming for you anyways

Chat: Ok how can literally three piles of bandages shaped like humans pick up an entire car

- The screaming of the mummies sounded like they came from a horror movie and Bunnix hearing it even from that far was a big: Nope

- They almost got the pendent off of him but he used his sound waves again to blast them back

- Ladybug managed to dupe him by giving him the fake ladybug earrings and snatched his pendent

- Bunnix eventually had to leave the apartment to go detransform and went outside on the opposite side of the louvre, to pretend she was a mummy

- She ran to her brother as soon as possible, nearly crying from relief

- Alim soon joined them after coming outside

- They ended up taking it easy for the rest of the day, not leaving the apartment

- Alix’s ears were still ringing from all the soundwaves

- Jalil however, was a little suspicious

- He has mostly been in control when he was first akumatized as he was around Alix

- She had disappeared rather quickly not even chasing after him but Bunnix appearing very quickly

- He didn’t comment on it though, as he didn’t have enough proof to back it up

- On the other side of the city though, the bullies were cowering in terror as Nora stood over them, cracking her knuckles

- They came in the next day with broken noses and wrists

- But Jalil had caught the eye of a sculpture who went to his school, who had offered his condolences on being akumatized as he was one of the mummies, even giving him a small statue as a feel better gift

- Cue a mini crush starting up that will grow into a bigger one

- The Ladyblog had been commenting on Bunnix’s struggle with this Akuma

- But it was just left off with people assuming it was a hard Akuma since she was still pretty new and had less experience

#Enter Bunnix

[mewtwo24]

Noragami Thoughts

After a few years of not looking at this series (which is completely understandable, I very much wish the creator a full recovery) I was blown away upon my first return to the story.

Granted this isn’t the first time I’ve ever felt something so deep for a polished work, but I’d like to say it all the same--returning to Noragami felt like coming home. I’m a completely different person than I was when I first encountered the series, but I was surprised to find that my high regard for it didn’t change at all.

If anything, it only increased.

Thoughts below the cut because this is long, and I just needed to get my ideas down (good old catharsis). Don’t open if you aren’t caught up with the manga! There are spoilers.

I love this manga. Truly, I do, and one of the things that I noticed going back is how expertly Adachitoka handles both Yato’s self-understanding and the perception of the other gods. I think what levels me the most about this manga is that its emotional highs and lows are not only expertly controlled (we experience the weight never quite to the point of devastation, even though things are culminating in that direction) but the way we experience the characters is just...so breathtaking?

I love that the reason we hurt so much when they’re hurting isn’t always because we see the character in question in anguish. It’s because we see everyone that loves them suffer so acutely when they’re not okay.

And how beautiful is that? Something about that choice--that narrative decision to take trauma, to take pain and make it something that is always about love, is astonishing to me. I don’t think I know of another series that does it quite so poignantly as Noragami does. It expertly executes what I like to call “the anime effect”; in which we are so easily taken in by the humor we are utterly blind-sided when the world comes crashing down on the characters with full force.

And if that seems farfetched, just look at a handful of the recent examples. (I’m positive I could find more if I went looking back.) Kazuma is in a state of utter crisis because of what happened to Bishamonten, and the sheer desperation of everything he has done is chilling. His face and his self-deprecating words do little to hide the turmoil, but I feel like sometimes that’s lost in all of his shenanigans with Yato. We feel it in the moment, but we’re so swept away by the plot that it’s almost sidetracked. Almost. Until we get to the absolutely heartwrenching panel of Bishamon crying after he reports what he’s doing--essentially what he’s always done. Being devoted to her to the point of self-destruction; because it’s precisely the outcome she was trying to avoid in using another shinki against Fujisaki.

Take another, Ebisu. We see him painstakingly working despite his adorable youth to bridge the gaps that his predecessors failed to, to right every wrong he possibly can. He’s approaching the future with fresh eyes. But then we see that, even though he’s trying hard to be strong, there’s something more there. The older Ebisu, knowing that his fate was to perish long before any great age, had come to terms with that--as best as any person could possibly come to terms with that--and was already invested in protecting his successor. Gently, earnestly, firmly. We see a younger Ebisu that is enthralled with him, and the reader naturally assumes young Ebisu sees him as a parental figure. But then we get those shocking lines, the ones that mention how scared his predecessor must have been. How hard a lifetime of secrecy must be, how hard it must be for his closest retainer to keep secrets as well. We see an Ebisu that is young, yes, and with plenty of mourning available to him--and he takes it all in stride. Seeks to alleviate a great weight that was never his responsibility to begin with. But he takes it anyway, at the sight of their struggle. He makes it his own, despite the danger, because he loves them; as most young children do, without reserve.

And the surprising one, Nana. We see Yato make an attempt to ask for her help in ending Fujisaki once and for all--and Nana doesn’t seem entirely against the prospect of a fight--but Ara-habaki banishes him at the mere prospect of lending her over for that purpose. The meaning of that gesture? Profound and undeniable. Nana is utterly touched by the implication, is moved that somebody in this shoddy excuse of an afterlife would give a damn about her feelings as compared to her value as a shinki. We see a god that once again rejects the prospect of using shinki like chess pieces, and we even see Yato’s misgivings about using her to begin with--it was an act of desperation, and he moves no further when he’s reminded that it’s wrong. When he’s reminded that this isn’t the sort of thing he should do. After all, how can he look Yukine and Hiyori in the eye with the knowledge that he used a child to protect them? An unrelated party, a person who has never seen life because of her incredible power, and has been used one too many times to win a war that was never her responsibility.

And then, we have Yukine. Good fucking god, I can’t even start on this one without crying. I truly can’t. Granted I don’t know the intention of Adachitoka when first writing this (feels intentional), but the parallels between Yukine and Yato? Absolutely destroy me. There was nothing left in my heart but sorrow for the last few chapters. Here’s why.

We have Yato, or perhaps I should say Yaboku, yes? Who takes on Yukine as his shinki. As we all well know (and probably want to scream) Yaboku was the victim of considerable abuse by Fujisaki. I probably don’t need to go into the finer points, but coercion, blackmail, and outright threats have been exchanged, to say nothing of the way he uses Yato’s emotional suffering for his explicit amusement. Yato is a tool to him, nothing more. Anything Yato wants can and will be used against him for the sake of tightening Fujisaki’s collar around his neck even tighter. 

Yato is no stranger to the kind of pain that comes from being the child of a person that does not remotely love you. A guardian who appreciates nothing, recognizes nothing, praises nothing, protects no one unless it is of use to them. Feelings, fairness, humanity--none of those things matter.

Enter Yukine. In milliseconds Yato is charged with the care of a young man who was veritably buried alive by his own father. With nothing and no one to help him, an entire life lost--devastated--by the person that was intended to care for him. That kind of betrayal on its own, is purely horrific. There are no words I can say, nothing I can offer that can speak to the monstrosity of something like that. But I would like to offer that the way Adachitoka brings us to this truth is what makes it so utterly tearjerking. That it is precisely the narrative style of tangentially enclosing on the subject that is so ruinous I can barely see my screen, even now as I write.

It’s because we knew, even when we didn’t know. 

From the very first moment, we see Yato accept Yukine and he covers his eyes with his arm. We see tears streak down his face but he makes no further comment to any of it, keeping quiet with his subsequent silly antics. 

Strike one.

Throughout the course of manga we see allusions to how Yato encourages Yukine to learn what he didn’t get the chance to in his human life, sifting through workbooks and engaging with schoolwork with Hiyori’s help.

Strike two.

When Yukine is locked inside the box the other gods enforce during the trial in heaven, trying to pressure information out of Yato? We see Yato panic at exponential degrees, begging them to let Yukine out because neither of them can breathe. 

Strike three.

Yukine’s pervasive fear of dark, enclosed spaces?

Strike four.

And last, but absolutely not least, we see Yato digging where Yukine was presumably left to die. Nora notes that he was so on edge that he was hyperaware of his surroundings, forcing her to watch from a distance. Let that sink in. Yato was already so taken with his charge, with respecting his dignity and suffering as a person, that he would be damned if he let Fujisaki interfere. Not only that, we visibly see Yato’s absolute horror, the distress in every line of his face as he races to the site of murder and digs like a madman, no thought to his own fear or discomfort.

He takes more responsibility for Yukine’s care than the kid’s own father ever did.

Strike five.

Hiyori begins to outright sob when she too, brings all of the pieces together so quickly; that moment of realization, where every fragment of odd behavior suddenly transfigures itself into a coherent image, the mosaic visible. We experience Yato’s horror twofold when it echoes in Hiyori, and we feel the depth of her sorrow to know that somebody she cares about suffered such an egregious indignity. And to top all that off, we are aligned with her in this moment as one of solidarity. Yukine is rough around the edges sure; but we love him, and his fate is one we would wish on nobody. 

Strike six.

And, my dear readers, is that enough for us? Are we feeling enough hurt quite yet, Adachitoka asks? Fuck no. 

Because now we know that Yato not only carried the weight of Yukine’s trauma, but we also know how deeply he understood. Granted, their fates were a little different, but he knows. He knows how infuriating helplessness can be, the incapacity to stop the hurt at its source; because their lives were changed irrevocably beyond their control. Neither of them got to choose who they were born to. And even so he still tries to do right by Yukine, even if his attempts at care are awkward or ridiculous or roughly hewn--they’re utterly, heartbreakingly genuine. And he chooses to be better than his father no matter how many times he messes up; never, ever sinks to those lows. Never uses Yukine, never ignores his will, would never risk his life--even if it meant saving his own (Fujisaki sees literally everyone that will not contribute to his aspirations as expendable). And that’s what makes me cry, even more than the refrigerator scene. Because Yato would never put Yukine at risk to save his own life, even though next to no one has ever given a damn about him, even though Yukine pokes fun at him all the time and hurts him when he acts out of line/immorally, even though he had every liberty to treat him like an item or coerce him. He doesn’t. Or perhaps more accurately he can’t; not when he knows how much that hurts.

The other gods assume Yato to be lazy, irresponsible, unfeeling, selfish. Yato could have dropped Yukine like a rock. Could have said lol no thanks, this ain’t it chief, and decided to find another shinki that would cause him less grief.

He doesn’t.

And that’s what’s so awful about their falling out. Because Yato cares, cares beyond his capability to express, cares to the point of unrelenting faith in him. But he’s the certified goofball. The disgrace among the gods. A no-name. And he’s fully internalized that. He struggles with vulnerability, has to be somewhat drunk or flees the scene shortly after any expression of heightened feeling--and we can thank daddy Fujisaki for that. Yato understands his love for others as a purely destructive force; if being around him isn’t enough to ruin their lives, Fujisaki will ensure it. And that conditioning doesn’t go away in mere weeks of renouncing an abuser.

He loves Yukine and Hiyori so much that he no longer cares if he dies if it means that they live freely. He spent an entire god-span lifetime trying to remain in existence by any means possible, was obsessed with surviving at any cost. And yet, the moment his loved ones are at risk, it no longer matters.

Not only is he capable of more altruism than his father was ever capable of, he directs it whole-heartedly to the people devoted to him. When he was given no love, no solace, no semblance of worth of any kind--he still gives their existence meaning and would do everything in his power not to hurt them.

And that’s why I love Noragami. Because it does precisely what so few stories do, imo. It shows us that people grow for the better only when they find love, and that love can come from unlikely places--that you can love even if it was never, ever given to you. 

In Noragami, we come to understand that love is a choice. And sometimes it brings us pain, sometimes it brings us joy, but it always brings us to a better place.

I would like to end this all with the words that bring this entire analysis together, in the beauty of knowing that Adachitoka by no means implies this without clarity.

Nana and Fujisaki are two of the strongest characters that we have ever seen in this manga. Fujisaki is motivated, iirc, by the loss of the love of his life. This aching bitterness, the sheer undying rage inspired by her life cut short is what enables him to transcend every barrier that should stand in the way of a human being, presumably. He is our insight into what happens when love is twisted, we see a potential that was utterly lost to selfishness and cruelty--one that reverberates through Yato starkly. 

We see the danger of improper mourning, of an incapacity to let go. A truth Yato understands: life must go on, that it must keep flourishing anew no matter how much the growing pains sting.

And here, we see Nana. In her profound compassion, she understands that every single life is a meaningful individual, that they are innumerable points of value and beauty and worth in the world, and as such her death cannot be a source of sorrow. There is a clarity of understanding; she knows she is not alone in her experience, she knows that all human beings encounter trials and tribulations. She knows that she is not the first to die so young, so unfairly. And that’s what grants her strength. Yato calls it self-sacrifice, and while I understand that he assumes it to be a self-martyring conviction, I don’t think that’s quite what she’s getting at. Look at her dialogue, the careful phrasing: “It hurts more when someone you love dies.” She’s not saying she would rather die 1:1, she’s saying that the worst experience a person can have is seeing their cherished one in agony. The worst feeling, the only thing that could ever hurt her beyond sanity, is watching someone dear to her suffer without any means to stop it. Precisely what warped Fujisaki beyond repair.

“He loves Yukine and Hiyori so much that he no longer cares if he dies if it means that they live.” Reread those panels with that understanding. He literally marvels at Nana’s capacity to do that, to love people with so much tenderness and generosity, when he doesn’t even seem to realize that he’s doing it himself. That he too, is noble and strong, even if he can’t believe it.

And that’s the whole point. That’s the entire grounding of this manga. That love is what drives us, that we are made to love, and through love we find peace and self-understanding even in the most turbulent of times. I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if it is to be Hiyori’s devotion to him--ever steady, ever pure in its intentions and belief--that will be what grants Yato the strength to overcome Fujisaki, and heal Yukine. 

And having said all that, I know they probably won’t see this but I still feel the need to say it anyway. Thank you, Adachitoka. Works like this are the ones that inspire me to keep trying, that bring me to tears as much as it makes me smile. I can only hope I can create somethings so wonderful someday.

#noragami #noragami aragoto #noragami spoilers #noragami aragoto spoilers #noragami yato #noragami hiyori #noragami yukine #noragami ebisu #noragami kazuma #noragami bishamonten #noragami fujisaki #bro the new chapters had me shaking and crying #deadass still can't fully process what this manga means to me #this was just a shallow attempt at getting to the heart of it #god damn adachitoka have mercy #if any of you managed to get through that you have my sincere thanks and congratulations #analysis

[thesumosnipe]

DARK

RWBY vol 8 is back. Lets get right to it shall we?

Didn't like Whitley when he first showed up. Smarmy little twig had me loathing him and joining the crowd in calling him Shitley by the end of vol4. Vol7, still loathed him, despite his circumstances. Yet here in the last two chapters, he has completely changed my stance on him. First, calling Klien, now the plan to use the might of the SDC shipping assets to evac the crater, and no,Weiss, he can keep the attitude. A little snark helps stiffen the spine.

Momma Shnee- So with the release of the thumbnail a day ago, everyone was afraid the lush Mrs Schnee was going to bite it this chapter. Glad to say that though she cracked up a bit, she pulled through in a major way. Thought those cameras that caught Jacquess and Watts were a 1 n done plot device? Nope! And while she is no trained fighter and has probably run no further than 20 paces to the nearest trashcan or toilet to throw up in in years, she did a respectable job of keeping herself and Whitley out of the Hounds reach till the Huntresses could step in. And damn... I wanna see the story of when she got that tusker to summon.

Klien-Being best Adult, and imparting more wisdom and direction to the team in 3 sentences than Ozpin did in 5 volumes.

Penny. Oh poor sweet child. So Watts plan is have her carry out Ironwoods order to retrieve the relic, then just when Jimmy thinks hes won, she go BOOM. What, exactly that will do with the Winter...who knows. If Cinder isn't there to leach it...Winter? Ruby? NORA?

Blake still hasn't done a scream yet. A couple of pained yells, but not anything that Arryn put into our heads to fear. We FINALLY get some Ladybug after volumes of drought. And whomever does Blakes ears? Standing ovation.

Ruby oh sweetie the cracks are showing. But you got good people backing you. Let them help carry the load already.

The security cameras were not a one trick pony. The usual horror story trope of splitting the party was handled pretty well, a sound reason for the power being cut, why there would be a backup power supply, why they needed power back on. Just one minor quibble- Why wasn't it an automatic system? I am nowhere near the kind of rich the Schnees are, but the backup generator I had installed on my house 20 years ago automatically kicks in if the power goes down.

Oh, you thought I forgot about the Hound? Nope. So, yeah, there was someone inside that thing, making it a Grimm mech. Yes, they appear to have silver eyes. As a faunus, I'd say that Silver Eyes are a random mutation, and not a 'single bloodline' as some theorise. Sorry, Maria is not Rubys grandmother or great aunt. But... damn if this doesn't throw a massive load of fuel onto the "Summer is alive" and "Summer is a Grimm" theories.

And lastly Angel Weiss:

#my anime picks/reviews #rwby spoilers #rwby vol 8 #rwby

[razorblade180]

interdimensional Dads 3

Jaune:Alright, you’re up Blue. Tell all about a world where we manage to get our Beacon crush. That’s how I know you aren’t lying when you say there’s magic in your Remnant again.

Jaune:Magic had nothing to do with it! It’s called time and life. Also I told her I was going to cut my hair and she felt appalled so I didn’t. She told me how much she loves it a little shaggy.

...

Jaune:What?

Jaune:(Did cutting my hair really change my life that much?) It’s nothing, continue.

Jaune:Okay? Well, where to start? I guess the magic is as good of a place as any. Not much on the surface has changed. The climate seems to be a bit more intense though. The gods are back as well, but no one knows exactly where.

Jaune:It’s not on any map?

Jaune:No, apparently it’s constantly changing. Those who get close to finding it usually get turned around by something. Even Oscar doesn’t know.

Jaune:Oscar is still himself? Oz didn’t take over?

Jaune:Why would be? We saved the world and he got to move on. Oscar does however still have all the memories and experience. Not to mention the one hell of a fighter. Though these days he prefers using all that knowledge for counciling.

Jaune:Good for him.

Jaune:He’s a therapist? Huh, yeah he’s definitely been through hell and back in all of our lives. I never really stop to think how crazy it all was.

Jaune:He’s also married to Penny.

Jaune:Penny is back!?

Jaune:Your world is kicking my world’s ass.

Jaune:It’s pretty wild for sure. Yet it feels vaguely normal. Most of my time is spent still doing huntsman work. I take bodyguard missions mostly these days since they normally aren’t as dangerous. Saving towns from grimm is something I have to leave to the others like Ruby. Weiss gets a little anxious otherwise; even more than the kids do these days.

Jaune:Now for the good part, gushing about your kids.

Jaune:*smiling* Nicholas and Summer Schnee, my little Twin Snowflakes. Both sixteen and quite the handful.

Jaune:You know of any of us needed to have twins, I’m glad it’s the one who married into wealth.

Jaune:Well you’re sorta right. However, Weiss was cut off for years until her father wrote her back into the family on his deathbed. So she’s become financially savvy from having to live in Argus for years. That includes the kids when they were little and even a pet dog. I’d like to think we’ve both grown up through the years but she’s definitely changed more than me.

Jaune:I think that might be true for all of us.

Jaune:Hehe, I got a feeling you’re right.

Jaune:Yeah my Weiss has gone through some shit and took it strides as well.

Jaune:Anyways, being rich is nice but we did pretty fine before it. Yeah we had to work constantly but it’s not like there wasn’t anybody we couldn’t ask for help. I say by far the craziest thing about my world is team RWBY is now a connected on the family tree and then some.

Jaune:Wait...that would mean- who married a Schnee besides you! Qrow married Winter and that’s it right!? Right!?

Jaune:*smiling* Is someone a little jealous of thinking about a world where Ruby married Whitley?

Jaune:...A little.

Jaune:I guess I can spare you those details then. Just know they’ve done some real good for Remnant.

Jaune:That, I didn’t doubt for a second. It’s just a little weird hearing she isn’t with me.

Jaune:You named your kids after Weiss’s grandfather and Ruby’s mom?

Jaune:Nick is the future heir and Summer got her name because....sigh

....

Jaune:It was the right thing to do.

The other’s didn’t probe that avenue any further. Without saying anything, they already knew.

Jaune:Ruby must really appreciate that.

Jaune:Yeah. She might not realize it but she shows a little bias to Summer because of it. Not that Nick particularly cares. I think he might enjoy not being on someone’s radar for once.

Jaune:Let me guess, Mr. Popular?

Jaune:President at combat school, runner up in regionals, gold in figure skating, future heir, master of promoting various events and hosting parties. Kid has it made, and yet...

Jaune:He doesn’t seem to be having fun? I think we might’ve found a similar thread between our kids.

Jaune:Makes sense. Nick has the same problem I still have sometimes.

Jaune:Overthinking?

Jaune:Taking the blow for others?

Jaune:Burdening himself for no reason.

Jaune:Yes....

Jaune:Oh...

Jaune:He’s the kind of kid who finds a way to finish work quickly so he can finish other work faster; in a never ending loop. All for the sake of making others lives easier. This also causes him to tunnel vision sometimes and not really ask what that person wanted in the first place. That, or he puts himself in a position where he doesn’t get to enjoy being a teenager. It’s partly the reason why Weiss and I don’t give him too much slack whenever he does something for the fun of it.

Jaune.Even in a time of peace, someone like him is taking a lot of responsibilities. Not sure if that’s an Arc thing or a Schnee thing.

Jaune:Trust me, it’s both. He seems to be handling it well though. Weiss really gets on him about taking time to just be himself. Honestly it feels like there’s a couple times he’s even trying to put on a face for us instead of cameras. Fortunately people like Valerie and Veronica seem to cut through that act.

Jaune:Oooh, lady friends?

Jaune:Valerie is Ren and Nora’s kid. He has a giant crush on her but I sort of think he tries too hard and should consider looking elsewhere.

Jaune:That’s ironic coming from you.

Jaune:That’s how you know it’s bad. Me, the guy who wrote a terrible song just to get a date to the dance. To be fair he’s not that bad but I feel like he’ll end crushing his confidence. I mean Veronica would be nice. Blake and Yang’s daughter has a thing for him that’s just as obvious for his crush on Val.

Jaune:(Huh, that’s two sets of different kids from the same parents now. I guess some relationships are harder to change than others.) Nick sounds like a fine young man. I bet things will workout. He seems bright.

Jaune:Yeah, I just hope nothing blows up in his face. As for Summer, she’s practically the spitting image of her mother except with my eyes and light blonde hair. She’s pretty timid and a really kind girl. Smart as a whip too! Definitely got that from her mom; as well as her singing.

Jaune:She performs?

Jaune:Yeah, Atlas loves her music. She has good range, learned guitar from yours truly, tops the charts sometimes in other kingdoms, and genuinely seems to enjoy the life of a singer.

Jaune:But she’s timid?

Jaune:Yeah. Off the stage, she tries to get by life like a background character, but still wants to hang around Nick who’s always in a spotlight! When she was younger she got into a incident with dust that severely injured her. Thankfully she lived but now Summer has several scars over her body that she can’t stand. Also...that wasn’t all she got. Scars are least of her problems. The dust mixed with her cells in unexpected ways.

Jaune:Over exposer, did she get some sort of chronic illness or deficiency?

Jaune:Honestly, we don’t know what to call it. Whenever she gets too cold, Summer changes. Her hair goes white, eyes look like mother, and her personality does a 180. More than that actually. It’s more like she’s been possessed and what’s nothing more to rule everything. We call it Shiva. We have it under control mostly after ten years of dealing with it but there’s still scares now and then. Whatever Shiva is, she’s strong and capable of terrible things. Thankfully no casualties yet, but plenty of close calls and extra scars for almost everyone involved. The mental strain it puts on Summer almost seems crippling. I...don’t really know what to do about it at this point. She’s been distant, and I feel like she isn’t telling me something.

Jaune:....

Jaune:Well...you haven’t lost anything yet right?

Jaune:Huh?

Jaune:Don’t look so bummed. Ten years and nothing too tragic to show for it. Maybe it’s luck, or everyone is way stronger than this problem after all. Including your daughter. Trust me, daughters are way stronger than what father’s give them credit for.

Jaune:Ha, you know he might be on to something with that. You heard my story. Yujin was keeping things together for a long time. That being said, they’re still our little angels and can only go so far. Eventually they���re gonna wish to see someone like their dear old dad to to lean on. That’s our job after all.

Jaune:Yep. You’ll figure it. Like you said, you’re not alone.

Jaune:I might have a daughter but I know a thing or two about distant kids. Take it a step at a time, and let them know you’re always there.

Jaune:...*smiles* Thanks guys.

Jaune:No problem!

Jaune:I wonder what’s up with those two right now? Probably training for their tournament no doubt.

xxxx

Training is putting it lightly. The cold Argus air is filled with smoke as a fire burns in the forest. Nick kneels with his sword stabbed int ground. His body trembles from exhaustion and sweat runs down his face while his hands still grip the blade handle til his palms bleed. Surrounding him is Apathy as pale as ghost with ghastly blue eyes that make them look like they’re right out of horror movie.

Though he’s tired, he manages to lift his head up and see his sister on her hands and knees, not as roughed up as him but more drained from the grimm. Summer looked at her brother with eyes that constantly flickered between shades of blue before turning the shade of their father’s. Summer fell forward, all motivation to move taken away.

Nick:You okay...?

Summer:Y-Yeah...thanks. Sorry.

Nick:Next time....we’ll bring Ruby just in case.

He found the strength to walk towards his sister and carried her on his back. The summoned Apathy keeping a certain range around them like a dome as he walked. Summer found whatever strength she had to raise her right hand up and snapped her fingers. A cool wind came off her finger tips and snuffed out flames before it got out of hand.

Summer:Can’t have this place burning down right?

Nick:You’re gonna get cold again.

Summer:She’s tired...and I’m spent. Even if she comes out, my body can’t move so...zzzzz

Nick:Sigh, saw that coming.

Nicholas walked as fast as his body let him. Abandoning both of their swords in favor or retrieving them later. They’d gotten lucky, the sun was out and he had handled the situation before Shiva could find her stride. Warm clothing also did its part.

He felt Summer shift around on his back and started moving faster. He hated this part.

Nick:I don’t wanna talk to you.

Shiva:That’s no way to treat family.

Nick:But an icicle to the leg is?

Shiva:How else was I supposed to slow you down? You’ve gotten stronger, dodging it the way you did. How unpleasant for me. I’ll aim higher next time, I’ll make sure not to rough up that money maker of yours though.

Nick:Next time I’ll throw you in the fire so you’ll be too tired to talk. Your days are numbered. It must be a pain dealing with me and trying to keep control. Sooner or later you won’t be able to do anything but lose until Summer snuffs you out. Then you’ll be nothing more than a bad dream.

Shiva:....Hmmm aha!

Shiva:I’ve decided then. I guess I’ll just have to kill you first before that happens.

A chill went down his spine as he could feel her ice cold breath hit his ear as she whispersed...

Shiva:Let’s see if I’ll be a bad dream them.

Nick looked over his shoulder and saw nothing but his sister’s sleeping face. Not a sign of anyone or anything else; just peaceful slumber. The boy continued walking in silence. He was still sweating, still trembling, but no longer from the cold. Exhaustion crumbled to adrenaline. He started going back to the sight of their training to grab his sword. After all, who knows what could happen on the way back?

Part 2

Start reading Twin Snoflakes?< Part subzero

#rwby #rwby au #the void #jaune arc #rwby twin snowflakes #summer schnee #nicholas schnee #rwby knightshade #rwby whiteknight #rwby lancaster #rwby dragonslayer

[calliecat93]

It’s been a long year everyone, but at last we have arrived. RWBY Volume Eight. This is the fourth volume I’ll be doing text reviews of, which feels crazy. I’ve been watching this show more or less form the start, and I can safely say that this is the most scared I’ve ever been. Not because of the quality, I have high hopes for that. But we know how the last volume ended. We knew that it was going to carry over into this one. And it was even MORE tense than we expected. It’s gonna be one heck of a Chapter 1 review, I can say that.

Before that, we have a new opening! Sadly, to my knowledge, the song title hasn’t been announced yet. But other than that... oh man. There is a LOT to unpack here. SO much to analyze. So much to speculate. Once more Jeff and Casey gave us a banger, and Casey was NOT kidding when she said it was dark. But before we proceed any further, let’s get the disclaimer out of the way

(Warning: This post WILL contain spoilers for RWBY V8 Chapter 1. If you have yet to see the episode and do NOT wish to be spoiled, PLEASE scroll past this post. You have been warned.)

We begin seeing Mantle int he state we’re used to, but it glitches. The blues and whites shift into reds, fires and chaos are widespread, and the Grimm are wreaking havoc. This is going to be what Mantle looks like the moment that Salem strikes the city. The one watching this all unfold? Ruby. She failed to stop Ironwood and the division between our heroes, Atlas, and Mantle is greater than before. The poor girl can only watch in horror as Mantle burns, Atlas continuing to hover above... for now at least.

The theme oft the volume, contrast to last volume’s themes of trust and fear, is mistrust and division. The first chapter demonstrated this, but I’ll save that for then. But here? We have the logo causing a divide between Ruby herself, and all of her allies. I could be reading into this too much, but I do have to wonder... si something going to happen that causes Ruby to strike out on her own? Do things go badly and she’s the only one who doesn’t quit? Does the pressure get to her and she does something that causes everyone, ever her own teammates and sister, to turn their backs on her? It’s hard to say, but I don’t think that Ruby is coming out of this 100% the same.

Ah, isn’t this nostalgic? Our girls really have come far. Ruby went from a naive, innocent girl with an overly idealistic dream to a true Huntress who wants to make lives better after witnessing how bad it can really be. Weiss when from a spoiled rich girl suffering form neglect and a controlling father, to a defiant young woman determined to reclaim her family name her way. Blake has gone from a frightened girl to a woman broke free of her abuser’s control and is fighting for both equality and for her loved ones. Yang was a confident, yet reckless girl with abandonment issues and while she went through great loss, she came back even stronger and shining even brighter.

The girls have changed. They have grown. They’ve lost their innocence along the way, but they survived and kept moving forward. But while they could, another failed to do the same...

The general has completed his descent into villainy. He is now a cold, heartless tin soldier who is willing to take any step he deems necessary to protect Atlas. Even if it means cold-blooded murder. Even here, there is nothing but coldness in his eyes and as the shadows engulf him, we see the image of Atlas fall into ruin. We also see Clover’s badge, and the images of his remaining teammates and Qrow. Marrow in particular just looks uncertain about everything, a major contrast to how upbeat he was last volume. Harriet... just looks like she has been consumed by hate and rage. And if I had to guess, it’s going to be aimed at Qrow. She may claim to not be friends with her teammates, but losing Clover is going to have some very, VERY bad affects on her and the others. Especially under Ironwood’s influence.

We see Qrow downcast before Robyn offers him a hand in support. Yeah, think it’s safe to say that these two are gonna launch some kind of prison break. Looking forward to it~! Then we cut to Oscar, clutching his head and looking like he is in pain. He’s surrounded by Grimm and it looks like he’s int he Grimm Whale. We know that Salem is after him, so... yeah, my concern is VERY high. Also we see Salem in a new form and... umm... the apparition of her in V5 has now been topped in... help us world.

Returning to the theme of division, that seems to be central especially for Ren and Nora. Last volume, they were in conflict with Nora unable to get Ren to open up, even after they finally kissed. Here? It seems the drift is only going to grow. Ren glances at Nora, before facing away. Nora had been facing away, but then she glances back at Ren before turning around. She just looks so upset and pained as she stares at the man she loves. Along with Nora willingly splitting from Ren in Chapter 1... it’s gonna be a ROUGH volume for Renora shippers everywhere.

We come to the Schnee Family. Weiss and Winter walk past each other. At first, Winter looks like her usual, composed self. But as she passes her sister, her attire changes to have her new cybernetic features. her composed expression shifts into one of sadness and maybe even guilt. Weiss seems to notice, looking up with wide eyes before the scene shifts. We know that the two will be in conflict now due to their opposing sides, even though neither clearly wants to be. Chances are they’ll meet face-to-face again, and it is NOT going to go well as they must decide whether or nit to fight each other on their respective sides.

Then we see Whitley and Willow. No Jaques, though we know he will be appearing. Willow continues to look tired and depressed, and I can only hope that somehow SOMETHING goes better for her here. But then we have Whitley. Despite his role being minor, Whitley got hit a heavy blow with Jaques arrest curtesy of Weiss. But here he looks like he’s trying to look calculative... but his fear is shining through. The kid is in a bad place and I doubt that he’s broken form his father’s control. Will Weiss help him out of it? or is it too late?

Then we shift to a chess board. We have Salem, her pawns all ready and charging ahead with their attack. Now I knwo nothing about Chess, but clearly the Queen is winning. Ironwood is on the opposite side, all of his chess pieces fading into dust as the board breaks away. He stands alone, completely open to checkmate. The King is about to be overthrown. Ironwood has driven off hsi allies, and the remaining are likely either going to soon follow or fall to Salem’s forces. For all his efforts to save Atlas, all that he is done is secure it’s downfall, as well as his own. Yeah, even if by some miracle he realizes his mistakes, I don’t think that James is coming out of this alive, and it will all be by his own doing.

We see Watts being Watts, typing away. I have to wonder... does he somehow escape form custody? Or does ironwood willingly let him free for his side? The guy is desperate, he’ll do anything to win, even strike up a bargain. Which Watts would absolutely take and use the access for his own means. Maybe even some hacking...

Then we have Pietro, himself hard at work. Behind him is a mirror, and his reflection turns to look at Penny. Compared to the bright smile she had int he last opening, Penny looks scared and dishearted. She is looking at her hands, closing her eyes as though in resignation. We see her reflection glance at her. To just increase my fears of a potential ‘Watts hacking Penny’ theory, here are some images from later in the opening.

The first has Penny up above the heroes. At first I thought it was just her flying up to get into a battle stance. I didn’t realize how she was facing the gang face first. Right in front of Amity, and in between Atlas and Salem. Then from the tail-end, we have this 2D effect showing her eye. It goes from the usual green color, to a bright red, which soon engulfs the rest of the lines. Yeah... I know I panicked about Penny getting hacked last volume... but I am even moreso now! 

A snowflake falls into Ren’s palm before promptly meting. Due to the color fo his glove, it looks like a flower petal. He looks down at it forlorn. Jaune puts a hand on his shoulder and he, Yang, and Oscar are there. Btu the support doesn’t do anything to change Ren’s expression. We then see a flower petal fly by Nora, who tries to catch it. She fails, but Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Penny appear at her side. This perks her up as she gets into a battle stance. Once more, emphasizing the divide between Renora and showing us our current team dynamics. They have separate goals, but they aren’t divided... at least, not right now.

Then we have this shot of Ruby and Yang. I’ve bene predicting for a while that there was going to be a conflict between this two. They have VERY different ways of handling things, and last volume made it clear that while she stood by her, Yang was having doubts about Ruby’s decisions. I’ll go more into that when I review Chapter 1, but I am hoping that this shot shows that no matter what issues they have between them and even if they end up arguing, they WILL work past it. They’re still sisters. They still love each other. They still ultimately have the same goal. No matter what happens, they will be there for each other.

After a really cool battle sequence (I’d post the pics but this si already a MASSIVE post), it freezes. When it does, we see Cinder walk past it. At first, she is displaying the demeanor that we expect from her. Confident, egotistical,a nd wearing that sick smirk on her face. You know the one. She also walks past neo and Emerald. Neo looks exactly what we expect, annoyed. Emerald looks more optimistic though, also expected. I think it’s safe to say that Neo’s gonna turn on Cinder fairly soon, especially after Chapter 1. But will Emerald? We’’ve been hoping, but will this be the moment she finally realizes that Cinder doesn’t care about her and get out? Only time will tell.

But Cinder’s usual smugness stops when she grabs her arm in pain and screams. Her Grimm Arm. As many have noted, the arm has slowly been consuming her body. It went form just up to her elbow, to now engulfing up to her shoulder. Not to mention Winter managed to slice it off, and it grew back in a pretty violent manner. Given what we saw in the start of the episode, it looks like we may FINALLY be getting the Cinder backstory and truly understanding her motives. I think that Cinder will reach a breaking point in this volume. One that is NOT gonna be pretty or do our heroes any good.

We get the usual villain lineup which ends at Salem, We get a close-up of her eyes, and in them are the Relics. No shock that those are what she’s aiming for. Then we see both the Lamp and the Staff, and they both glow and let loose the blue smoke. It brings up a question... we all know that the Gods will be summoned if all four are brought together. But what would happen if two are brought together? If the two are used together, what will it cause? Either way, both of them are gonna be vital in whatever happens.

The image glitches again, going form the  Grimm devastation to Ruby looking out at Atlas. She is with the others, her scythe being use to cause a division line between the two current groups (as seen in the top image). Then, the ice cracks beneath her feet. She and the rest of Team RWBY fall into the depths below. Remember that scene in the V6 opening when Qrow got dragged down by Grimm arms? And how that symbolized his conflict int he season as he endured a downward spiral? Well... it might be Team RWBY’s turn.

The girls fall into the water, sinking into the abyss. But there are light particles surrounding them, and Ruby opens her eyes to see the light above. The source? The Staf fof Creation? She reaches up for it, only for a group to Grimm arms to grab her and keeping her from going upward. The lyric accompanying this is “Sometimes it’s worth it all to risk the fall and fight for every life.” Could this hint to Ruby deciding to use the Staff to stop Salem? If she does, then this will guarantee Atlas’ Fall f she makes even a minor mistake. Is that a risk that she is willing to take? What will happen if she does so? How will her team react? Will this cause a greater divide? Like I said, Ruby ain’t gonna have a good time in this volume...

Then we have the following words appear.

Happy Ever After. The same words we see at the end of every fairy tale. But life isn’t a fairy tale now, is it? The words get crossed out and twisted. Until at the end, we are left with...

Yeah... if you needed more proof that this volume was going to be dark... here you go.

We end with the girls weapons landing at the bottom of the abyss. The last to do so is Crescent Rose, and we cut to it emended in the ice with the moon behind it. It’s a shot that reminds me GREATLY of Ruby’s first ever appearance in the Red Trailer all those years ago. And aas the petals scatter, we have the credit to Monty Oum. Your show has come so far Monty, hope you’re proud right now.

This opening was fantastic! The song sounds like a VERY twisted version of Lets Just Live, being about the heroes realizing the true horrors of their world but there’s no real motivation to keep living this time. Now it’s all about how bad things have gotten, and ends with wondering if sometimes, it’s best to take a risk to save everyone. As far as where I rank this, song-wise it hasn’t topped Let’s Just Live, Rising, and Trust Love, but I think it’s beaten the other four. That can always change though. Animation wise... I’m still trying to decide if it’s topped Opening 7 or not. But it is very, VERY good. The fact that they managed to make it look this good despite the work-at-home environment is commendable.

And... that’s it! I hope you all enjoyed this! The review for Chapter One will be coming soon. But for now, thank you all for reading, and let’s get ready for one Hell of a volume~

#rwby #rwby8 #rwby spoilers #rwby reviews #rwby musings #callie reviews