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yamaoni · 3 years

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The Second Great War of Remnant has begun. Once more, Vale and Mantle are embroiled in a massive conflict, only this time, they are on the same side against Atlas.

I don't think it was a coincidence that so many people drew parallels with the last episode and WWI. We've never seen people fight that way in RWBY. Grimm don't use projectile weapons the way humans do, so the benefits of the trench are diminished; especially if you compare it to the drawbacks.

Now, I understand not everyone in the Atlas military has their aura unlocked and the squishy soldiers need some cover, but if The Long Memory didn't nuke every grimm on Atlas, the lines would have been overrun and then there would have been nowhere for them to retreat to.

You think the very real hand to hand struggles in the trenches of WWI were bad, imagine being trapped in a narrow trench with a bear. Or having this thing explode out of the ground under you.

I refuse to believe no-one in Atlas ever thought, "if we put the dirt from the trench in a box, no only can we give our soldiers cover, we can also give them an elevated position to fire from."

The top of a wall has been the primary defensive position for the people of Remnant for a long time. You can see them in the establishing shots of most settled places the team has visited. So why are we seeing a trench now?

Simple.

Show, don't tell.

RWBY has done a pretty great job, especially in the last few seasons, of showing the audience what it is trying to convey without explicitly telling them. They especially like drawing from well known folk lore to give insight into the future of the show.

Only difference here, instead of drawing the parallel between characters, they're drawing parallels between worlds.

Remnant's first Great War started with Mantle suppressing freedom of expression, the destruction of Art and Color. Ironwood always has little in the way of color, but in his first broadcast since everything started hitting the fan, he has none.

That broadcast also included evacuation ships being blown up by fighter-bombers, Dunkirk. It threatend to level a city if they didn't surrender, Battle of Brittan. All delivered by a dictator trying to scare his opponents into submission through careful use of film.

Theories

If the rest of the season is WWII, I have several theories on plot direction. Considering how well they did keeping up with both ends of the battlefield it wouldn't surprise me if they followed all of them at the same time.

Operation Dunkirk

Or, the evacuation of Mantle.

Players: Penny, Nora, Ren, Happy Huntresses

The Happy Huntresses involvement is a given. Not only has saving Mantle been their goal the whole time, they're also stuck in the middle of it right now.

Penny is the Protector of Mantle. It would be a shining moment for her character to fully throw off the virus Watts implanted and overcome Ironwood's threats to do so. Just crossing my fingers that it doesn't end like the Iron Giant.

Nora is currently Penny's tether to sanity, so she has to go with, and I doubt they would separate Ren from her for the next arc so he's going too.

Surprise twist for this plot I'm betting will be the Starwars "they aren't warships, just people" scene everyone loves to rag on. After all, the broadcast went out that they needed help and, at least at Dunkirk, it was fishing boats and pleasure crafts that retrieved the 338,000 surrounded on all sides.

Why We Fight

Or, countering Ironwoods propaganda.

Players: Robyn and Qrow

For one, these two are unaccounted for and in the heart of Atlas' military machine. If anyone has means to do so, it's them.

The film, Why We Fight, also countered the dramatic cinematography of Goebbels propaganda by painting it as ridiculous and making a folksy call to action much like Robyn has done in the past.

Operation Fortitude

Or, the deception of Ironwood.

Players: Emerald, Jaune, Oscar

This is the mission to make Ironwood think the team is going after the relic. This theory is why I actually thought of and wrote out this whole thing. Thanks @maxiemumdamage, I had things I was supposed to do tonight.

https://maxiemumdamage.tumblr.com/post/644291955872890880/willing-to-bet-my-own-soul-that-emerald-uses-her

Only difference in my theory and their's, is Jaune is going to be playing the part of Penny.

I say this for two reasons. One, Joan of Arc pretended to be a man. While we've gotten both Jaune pretending to be something he's not and him in a dress, this would pose the first time in the story he could do both. Two, it would put him on a direct collision path with Cinder. It needs to happen at some point to bring his arc to a conclusion, but man I hope we're not about to watch him burn.

With Ozpin active again, Oscar has to go along to direct them to the vault. He's also one of two backing the idea of Emerald joining the team and Jaune wouldn't be willing to work with her without him.

Operation Overlord

Or, busting down the doors of Atlas Acadamy.

Players: Ruby, Blake, Weiss, Yang

Where Operation Fortitude was the faint, Operation Overlord was the real deal. For those that aren't history buffs, this is D-Day.

I think this is the reason we've only seen the main team fighting together once since their split from Beacon. And even then, that fight was at most pairs of fighters and not all four of them supporting one another.

RWBY tricked us into thinking season 4 was the post-timeskip level up we come to expect from anime when really we ended up watching the training flashbacks as they happened instead.

We've seen hints of it with the various team ups and combinations, but are we really ready for how much ass kicking they are about to do?

I'm hoping for a One Piece level of badass entrance that can give me shivers whenever I go to watch it again like the walk to Arlong Park still does to this day.

(Aside: if you try telling me RWBY isn't anime, I'm just going to ignore you. Anime is an art movement. If you don't understand what that means, watch this video. https://youtu.be/uFtfDK39ZhI)

youtube

Now last and certainly not least

Operation Valkyrie

Or, the death of Ironwood.

Players: Winter and Marrow

The long awaited defection. Plenty of speculation has already floated around about if and when these two where going to cave to their morals and jump ship. I don't know how many of us were expecting the straw to break the camel's back to be a nuke held over Mantle, but I certainly wasn't.

What worries me, is Operation Valkyrie failed and all its conspirators were executed. As if there weren't enough death flags for Winter before.

Even if it's not Winter that kills him. I don't see Ironwood surviving this season. Even if it means he goes out like another hated dictator. It's not like it would be the first time RT had a fallen hero chose to use his own sword.

Wildcards

Or, Murphy will have his due.

Players: Cinder, Watts, Neo, Tyrian, Mercury, Clover

These players can go any which way. Three we know for sure are going to be active in the coming episodes and I wouldn't be surprised if the other three play a part as well.

Oscar made a hell of a light show for Tyrian and Mercury to see behind them. Not to mention, Salem will still need a ride home when she pulls herself back together.

Clover keeps getting mentioned even though he's hospitalized. If he was truly out of commission for the rest of the season, they would have made us think he's dead before bringing him back like they did with Penny.

Up to now, what we've seen is a three way conflict. But one of the hallmarks of Remnant's First Great War, was making temporary alliances to fight off grimm.

The grimm might be gone, but the wild cards can't complete their own objectives if they are dead. The question is who's goals better align with their own.

Two surprise twists I can see here. One, Mercury stabbing Tyrian on his way to defection. He was raised by an assassin and has not going to get a better chance than that. Two, Clover joining Operation Valkyrie. He might have accepted that sacrifice is a necessary evil to ensure Atlas' survival, but might go Schindler's List on us and find horror in what Ironwood plans to do.

TLDR

I spent way too long writing this out. All the WWI imagery means we're getting a WWII movie with RWBY characters. Major death flags for Penny, Jaune, and Winter.

Also I finally figured out how to do a readmore. Apparently it's just been a long time since I updated.

Note: kept seeing things talking about clovers death and I kind of went ???? Isn't he barely alive in medical? Went back and watched that scene and though I am 90% sure he is dead still kind of weird that they have him in his own room instead of a morgue and the initial framing made my mind instantly think he was propped up on a hospital bed. I mean, I guess we needed to have all the ACEOPs there for their reaction to Ironwood... but it definitely made me think he was alive. That and they have a bandage on his chest wound... when he's supposedly dead. Also have a phantom memory of Harriet saying something about him being in critical but I think that's my memory playing tricks on me.

Having his face exposed instead of covered by the sheet and seeing him in the same frame as Winter being treated also didn't help my gut reaction of "Oh Shit! He's alive? How?!" If I'd followed up more on the "how" might not have made the blunder of writing his return as the final twist in my theory. Oops

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shadows-twilight · 3 years

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RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 13

May various thoughts and opinions on the penultimate episode of RWBY Volume 8, “Worthy”.

Jesus Christ

SPOILERS BELOW:

Another Light Sensitivity warning. Oh boy.

Of course Jaune gets to be the guinea pig. Poor guy.

“If anyone will need help, it’s them” I don’t know, after all the shit that went down at the end of “Before the Dawn”, this might actually be a cakewalk in comparison.

Nora looks like a witch on a broomstick riding Magnhild like that and I kind of love it.

Can we get Penny some shoes. Poor girl’s going to be in the desert with bare feet.

I was very excited to get our first look at Vacuo and Shade. Should’ve figured they wouldn’t be spoiling us THAT hard. Though, to be fair, you couldn’t ask for a more Vacuan welcome.

Well, on the bright side, whoever ends up falling is going to have the company of about two dozen randos. Cinder definitely knows how to make an entrance.

I’m going to take a wild guess that Cinder’s not being all that sincere with her regret towards Neo? I mean, her acting isn’t exactly Oscar-worthy (Cinder’s, not Jessica’s. She’s actually gotten really good over the years).

Of all the things I expected the last question to be used on, this was not one of them.

Jinn looks genuinely upset to have to answer this. Aww, she likes them. But, you know, a genie-allegory’s got to do what a genie-allegory’s got to do.

Cinder officially knows that Emerald is on the side of the angels. The fact that her reaction wasn’t bigger is actually quite telling.

Damn, that cold cut between the people looking surprised and all of them being dead. Brutal. RIP, Bill.

“You deserve this, Arthur”. Oh boy, he’s going to die!

You know, it’s subtle, since their faces can’t move much, but I think Elm properly heard Robyn when she made the point about the kingdom being it’s people, not the city. Good on you, Elm.

The bomber robot is giving me serious Terminator vibes.

Marrow is just raking in those “good boy” points this volume, isn’t he? Dud just took a bomb to the face for these people.

So, umm, did Watts let Ironwood out on purpose? Particularly for the purpose of stirring the pot? That certainly seems like something he would do.

Well, uh, RIP Jacques, I guess. Not gonna lie, I figured that would have been more satisfying than it was. Oh well, rot in hell, dirt bag.

And there we have it, the first of our characters to fall. I mean, on one hand, no way in hell would they have one of the titular characters die in such a fashion, so this all but confirms that there’s something waiting on the other side of this abyss, but on the other hand they do a really good job of selling the shock and grief of “losing” someone. Damn, this show is good.

I like that for a brief second, Penny forgot that she no longer had Floating Array, thought me likey the replacements she constructed.

Almost thought Weiss was going to fall there, too, to be honest.

Ok, I was officially too hasty in writing Vine off. I’m ok with being wrong on this one.

Sadly, we were all too correct in giving up on Harriet. I mean, principle? Loyalty? She’s trying to blow up thousands of innocent people and for what? Clover’s memory? He’d be ok with slaughtering all of these people in his honor? Because if that’s true, than I’m now officially ok with him going out the way he did.

Sadly, while it looks like Vine might have actually been getting through to her, Robyn has arrived to shatter the mood. Can’t really blame her, since she had no way of knowing how that conversation was going, but still. Timing could have been better.

That is the second time Qrow has ambushed a confused person using his bird form, and it was just as funny as the first time.

Yep, there’s the reaction from Ironwood I was hoping for. God, every time you think this man’s hit rock bottom, bastard’s gotta go and pull out a pickaxe.

“I've never wavered in fighting the enemies of this kingdom. And I won’t start now.” If that is not the page quote on Winter’s wiki page after this, I am going to be SEVERELY disappointed.

If Ironwood was trying to garner sympathy with that tear, he has ridiculously missed the mark.

Yeah, I was wondering if that was going to be the case with those portals. Granted, I originally thought it was intended feature rather than a bug, but still.

Hey, we got our first look in-show look at the Ravagers! Now please, for the love of god, show me a Ziraph.

The end is near, and we have our final battles. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Penny vs Cinder and Neo, Qrow, Robyn, Vine, and possibly Elm vs Harriet (and, to an extent, Watts), Winter vs Ironwood, and Ren, Emerald, and Oscar vs a bunch of Ravagers. Things have gone all kinds of insane, and emotions are running high! I’m equal parts scared and excited going into next week’s finale, and while i have no idea how it’s going to go, damn, is it going to be a ride. Until then, pardon me while I go scream into the void for a week. Excuse me, Yang.

#rwby #rwby volume 8 #rwby spoilers #rwby thoughts and opinions #rooster teeth animation

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blazingstar24 · 3 years

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Did the Hound Eat Summer Rose?

Okay so I was thinking about that last shot in the 100 eps of RWBY video. For those who don’t know, it’s a new shot of Ruby in what looks to be Schnee Manor using her silver eyes. So what I was thinking was that what if that’s Ruby trying to blast the Hound? And then I thought about that shot in the mid-season trailer of Ruby getting kicked or thrown out of the manor. I know some people think it’s when Penny wakes up and it’s the fight between Penny and the gang, but what if it’s the Hound? More specifically what if those two scenes(Silver eyes and Ruby flying) are connected? Ruby encounters the Hound and after it’s proven to be tougher than normal Grimm, she tries to blast it with her silver eyes. But it has no effect and it sends her flying out the wall.

Why would the Hound be immune to silver eyes? Well my theory is that’s why Salem was experiment so long with the Hound. If she was just making a Grimm that could adapt and talk, it’s fine if you pit it against normal characters like Yang, Jaune, and Ren. But now it’s going to be encountering your main character who has a instant kill power. How do you make this Grimm a threat to Ruby beyond the same conflict of Ruby can’t activate it? You make it immune to silver eyes. But they would also have to do this in a way that could make sense in the show. Otherwise the Hound is just that kid who says nope I’m in timeout, you can’t tag me. So how can the Hound become immune to silver eyes in a way that doesn’t seem like cheating the rules of the show?Well let’s examine what the Hound can do.

We’ve seen it change it’s form to suit it’s needs. But what if this is more than the Hound being able to adapt it’s body quickly. What if to do so, the Hound needs to have taken in or eaten those Grimm to manifest their traits? It would be like the Sword of Gryffindor, taking in what makes it stronger. Kinda like AFO as well I guess? So that’s why Salem has taken her time releasing the Hound into the wild. One, because it’s a specialized Grimm to do higher up missions. But also because she’s been carefully choosing which types of Grimm for it to take in.

So then how does it become immune to silver eyes? Eat a silver eyed warrior of course! Who is the only silver eyed warrior we know who has met Salem? Summer Rose. So the Hound eats Summer and it becomes immune to the power of the silver eyes. Is this out of nowhere speculation? Yes. But also I think it would match with the story of Little Red Riding Hood. In the original story, her grandmother is swallowed by the wolf. In this version, it’s her mother that get eaten by the Hound.

Also I mean Schnee Manor is a perfect spot for another horror episode like the Apathy. The girls are looking for the generator in the dark, and the manor is huge. So naturally someone is going to suggest they split up. And there isn’t anything to fear, they have no idea that the Hound is prowling on the premises. If the Hound is able to speak and if the Hound did eat Summer, then what if it’s able to mimic her voice like a jabberjay in Hunger Games? Imagine: Ruby is walking through the halls of Schnee Manor. It’s pitch black and the only source of light is the occassional lighting flash. Then out of the corner of her eyes, she sees something move down the hall. She pauses and waits for another flash. Nothing. She turns back around when....ever so faintly she swears she could hear her mother calling her down the hall. It’s only been hours after Salem dropped that bomb about Summer on her, so of course hearing her mother’s voice would mess with her. Despite everything telling her that it’s clearly not her mother, she runs down the hall only to see the Hound.

Is this theory plausible? Who knows? But would it be hella interesting? I think so.

#rwby v8 spoilers #rwby v8 #rwby theories #summer rose #rwby the hound #rwby ruby

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littlemisssquiggles · 4 years

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*fluffs you* Uhm... Any thoughts on Chapter 5 yet? You know I don't mind spoilers :)

Apologies for the late response! Say no more Mizu. I gotchu fam! If I’m beingcompletely honest with you, I don’t have much to say about this episode mostly in the sense that, even after processing it for an entire day, I’m still riding the high of it. I will say overall that I enjoyed this episode so I think for the most part, this time I’m just only going to mention the two key parts that I enjoyed the most about this episode, if that’s okay:

JNPR RISES

First of all, as you’ve probably seen by now from my blog—a wild cute farm boy was sighted in this episode. Naturally this made this squiggle meister very very happy.

Going in CH5 especially following the last episode, what I mostly wantedout of this new chapter on Oscar’s side was mostly to see him show up. I honestly felt like a mom whose kid went away to summer camp and hasn’t seen them in weeks. I just wanted to see Oscar to be reminded that he’s still in the PLOT (unlike certain other characters *coughsMariacoughs*). But I ended up getting more than I bargained for.

This episode showed Oscar teaming up with JNR in an all fours team battle against an Atlesian huntsmen team I’ve been waiting to make a comeback since V3.

RWBY BROUGHT BACK THE FNKI!

Seriously it was SO GREAT seeing Neon and Flynt returning. I was worried that with our heroes spending time mostly with the Ace Ops that we weren’t going to catch them at all.

Luckily Eddy Rivas came in clutch for us FNKI fans this episode. Myfavourite part of CH5 was the fight between FNKI and JNR with Oscar. It wasso good. Seeing their interactions on the battlefield. Hearing Neon roast Nora and having Nora Harry Pottering herself around the battlefield trying to catch her was awesome.

Since when can Nora use the hammer to fly around like a witch on a broomstick!? This is the first time we’ve seen that and I really really love it! Need more hammer Witch Nora!

Watching Jaune fight Flynt and Ren fight Ivory while Oscar fought the giantKobalt and seeing all three of them kick ass. The fact that FNKI lost to JNPRmade me smile because a) it shows how much JNR has indeed improved since FNKI met them during the Vytal Festival, b) it highlights how much Oscar has been improving on his own without Oz and c) it shows how well Oscar works with JNR.

Seriously this scene gave me more hope for Oscar inevitably joining JNR to revive JNPR because that’s something that this squiggle meister has been hoping for since V5. For me, one thing I’ve always wanted for Oscar is for him to gain his own place on the team beyond his role as Ozma’s current descendant in the cycle and Ozpin’s successor.

Hence why I fell in love with the theory of him joining JNR to revive their huntsmen team.

While they’ve done well on their own up until this point, admittedly JNRhas been incomplete since Pyrrha’s death. And one thing I’ve always appreciated about the JNR gang is how they always felt like a family.

I know Team RWBY is our core protagonist team but I’ve always felt more attached to JNPR and I believed them to have the stronger family rapport than RWBY.

This is why I was hoping Oscar would eventually join them. Become a part of their little family and give Oscar three brothers-in-arms that he can count on both off and on the battlefield.

I felt like Oscar would fit well with JNR. Not just because they were short one member and his last name coincidentally provides that missing “P” from JNR…but mostly because I figured Oscar would complement Jaune, Nora and Ren just much as Pyrrha did once before. Thus making the young farm boy turned little barn prince fit well within JNR.

I always liked the idea of Oscar making JNR feel whole again and reviving their group through his growing bond and comradery with each member.

Beyond that, I wanted Oscar to experience what it was like to be a partof huntsmen team since part of the enjoyment of RWBY for me was watching these characters grow close to one another over the seasons.

Becoming teammates then friends and then to a greater extent—a family. I wanted the same experience for Oscar because right now, he could really use that.

He could use more friends. He could use a family. People he could happily call his brothers and sisters. His people and I think JNR can provide that him. No, I know JNR can provide him that. JNR are ¾ of who I believed could become Oscar’s Golden Circle of most trusted confidantes (the final member being Ruby, of course) and I’m not giving up on that headcanon.

I figured that’s what the Writers were going for last season with the whole Argus subplot between Jaune and Oscar. But…well, we all know how that went. Nonetheless, maybe there’s hope for this season. I’d love for the PLOT to revisit Oscar’s departure last season and I’d like to think it could come back up for the sake of his development to come from this season. But as always we, will see how that goes.

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SISTER SISTER

This episode also confirmed what most of us RWBY Theorists has been theorizing for years. Winter is going to be the next candidate for Winter Maiden.

According to the episode, Ironwood has not only been grooming Winter to become the next Winter Maiden following the passing of the old one but he’s also been grooming the Winter Maiden to choose Winter as her next successor by having Winter be the only person to interact with the old Maiden.

That’s an interesting take. I mean, my theory has always been thatIronwood wanted to control the succession of the Maidens but I figured he wouldhave done it using Atlas’ experimental aura technology. Not by literallygrooming the old candidate to pick his designated next one. It’s kind a poor way of doing it because as Oz once put it—”Maidens choose themselves”.

The only time this rule has been broken is when Maidens have been killed and their powers end up going to their assailants as opposed to someone they cared about. This also makes me curious as to what would happened should Ironwood’s plan not work with the Winter Maiden.

I remember Qrow mentioned something about the Maidens back in a previous volume regarding what would happen should a maiden not have someone to choose in mind.

I know Ironwood is trying to make the Granny Winter pick Winter but…what if…this doesn’t happen?

After all, you can’t just make a person care about someone just because she created a controlled scenario for them to force this type of bond. It doesn’t exactly work that way. While Ironwood might succeed in making Granny Winter care for Winter, I doubt he can make her care about her enough to have the powers pass onto her.

Imagine if…it becomes a case where the Winter Maiden had a daughter or a perhaps a granddaughter or great niece? Perhaps the Winter Maiden never had any children of her own since Maidens are usual chosen young. Perhaps Granny Winter has only known the life of a Maiden and has mostly lived it in isolation. However the only exception was her keeping in contact with the last family member that she had before she became a Maiden. Maybe she had a sister? Or a brother who eventually had a child of their own. A daughter.

What if…the Winter Maiden has young niece or great niece she never met. And she’s been thinking about that person for some time. Especially now that’s she on her death bed. Perhaps…Granny Winter has one dying wish that she confided in Winter? That she wanted to be reunited with her niece.

Perhaps…she confided this in Winter and she’s been keeping that little secret from even Ironwood this entire time.

Overall, this whole plot point with Winter and Granny Winter is really intriguing. And what’s more cool about is that it puts Winter more into perspective. This is the first time the show has really focused on Winter as a person; highlighting how she feels. We’ve seen Winter display a softer side to her otherwise stoic demenour but it’s usual reserved for her closest family such as her sister, Weiss.

This is the first time we’ve seen Winter show genuine care for anyone outside of her family. I wish we had gotten more time to spend with Winter and Granny Winter. It was nice to see how Winter has accepted her fate. It was also good to see just how much Winter values General Ironwood. It wouldn’t surprise me if part of the reason Winter respects the General is because she sees him as a father figure—at least a better one than her own father. I just really enjoyed that moment between Weiss and Winter. It’s very rare we see the Schnee Sisters interact so it was lovely seeing them have their moment this episode.

I know I call the Winter Maiden Granny Winter, but in actuality, her name is Fria. And one thing I’m curious about is whether or Fria will be based on the Norse Goddess of the same name?

Is Fria related to Nora?

This isn’t really a point of the episode but a theory I have based on what I learnt of the Winter Maiden. To me, the name “Fria” reminds me of “Freya”

According to research, Freya, in Norse mythology, is the Goddess of love but she is also associated with sex, lust, beauty, sorcery, fertility, gold, war and death.It is also stated that Freya shares a connection to Thor. Since Nora is RWBY’s equivalent of Thor and since it’s been teased that us fans will be learning more about Nora’s backstory soon, I’m starting to wonder if there will be an unspoken connection to Nora and Fria---the Winter Maiden.

Technically, the Maidens are the closest thing to goddesses in Remnant given their strong potency in magic. So I’m curious if at some point it will be revealed that Nora is a long-lost relative of Fria---probably her only living family member---who was stolen from her as a child by bandits who then trafficked Nora off to Mistral where she ultimately escaped her captives and wound up in Kunoyuri where she met Ren.

Imagine if...it’s a case where...Nora hasn’t seen Fria in years. Nor does she even remember her since Nora was abducted as a child so all the trauma of being kidnapped from her family forced Nora to somehow repress her past. Perhaps V7 will end on a cliffhanger note with Fria revealing to Winter her last dying wish---

To be somehow be reunited with her beloved granddaughter before she parted Remnant and returned to the Gods. And her granddaughter’s name was Nora Valkyrie.

Imagine if...V7 ends on Nora just learning that she is the granddaughter of the Winter Maiden who desperately wants to see her before she goes. But Nora becomes torn up about it since hearing about Fria causes all the repressed memories of her past to suddenly resurface after so long and for the first time since she first met Ren, Nora becomes a emotionally vulnerable and scared girl again--- unable to cope with this startling revelation and this time, it will Ren’s turn to support Nora on the qualms of her past along with Jaune (and possibly Oscar to since he is connected to the Maidens being the successor to the man who created them). I’m not sure if this will be the case in the serious.

However I am definitely down for this theory becoming canon if possible.

Nora becoming the Winter Maiden would surprisingly fit given the fact that her fairytale counterpart is an mythological god. Nora will literally become Thor if she rises to Maiden status and thunder is her element of choice.

Just picture Nora like Thor in Thor: Ragnarok. Her crystal blue-green eyes aglow with electricity surging around her body. And Nora using thunder as her element of choice as a Maiden even though she’s supposedly the Winter Maiden still fits since, technically---Cinder is the Fall Maiden and her element of choice is Fire.

Raven is the Spring Maiden and her element of choice was surprisingly Ice of all things. So Nora as the Winter Maiden using thunder. That would be purely badass!

The only gripe that I have with this theory is that Nora rising to Maiden status would put a greater death flag target on her back than her red hair. Theorists are already saying that Nora might be killed by Tyrian since in mythology, Thor was killed by a scorpion.

I personally don’t want Nora to die at all! I like and care too much about Nora as character. Raven is a Maiden and she lived. So if Nora becomes a Maiden, I expect her to live too. I’d actually be livid if Nora ends up dying especially since she’s been with us since V1. Pyrhha’s death was one thing but Nora’s...I’ll be really pissed if she gets killed off. ESPECIALLY in the event of JNPR being revived through Oscar.

So yeah, while I really want Nora to become the Winter Maiden, I don’t want her to die either. But regardless, for now I’m going to stick a pin in this theory and keep it on the table of possibilities.

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Robynn Death Flags + Ace Frames

And that’s pretty much it. That’s all I have to say on CH5, Mizu. As an honourary mention, I did like seeing Robyn Hill. She was cool and I’m intrigued by her and her Happy Huntresses. I’m especially curious about her possible connection to Clover because they seemed to have history. Definitely giving me Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham vibes. But beyond that, there wasn’t much for me to say on the part with Robyn. However I am looking forward to seeing her and her huntresses in action soon.

The title of the next episode---CH6 is titled “Night Out” and our heroes are expected to be attending the Watch party for the election campaign between Jacques and Robyn.

I have a hunch that CH6 is going to be another “calm before the storm” type of episode just like CH4.

I have a feeling that Tyrian is going to probably show up during the rally targeting Robyn to kill her.

Since Tyrian is working with Watts and since Watts was shown eyeballing the Ace Ops in the opening, my theory is that Watts is going to have Tyrian either kill off Robyn or at least target her and make it look as if Clover of the Ace Ops was responsible for the hit on Robyn at the rally.

Thus making the public of Mantle believe that the Ace Ops were the ones behind all the murders of the spokespeople in Mantle like Forest. #FRWBY

I think it’s going to start with Clover first since he’s the leader of the Aces and we’ve seen more of him than his teammates.

I have a feeling that Watts plan is to use either Clover and/or the Ace Ops as martyrs to further tarnish the General’s public image through a huge scandal with Robyn.

I think Robyn is either going to die or be believed to have been killed with Clover blamed for her death.

An Ace Op---one of the General’s personal attack dogs--- accused of killing the key representative for Mantle to keep her from gaining a seat on the governing council---hence keeping Mantle out of Atlas? That’s a good scandal. One that could destroy James even further.

I still stand by my theory that Jacques plan is to usurp James and through Watts’ aid, I think there’s a huge possibility.

Unless Jacques is nothing but a perfect pawn to Watts for him to pin everything on in the end just to cover his tracks and cause an even worse scandal for Atlas with Mantle.

I dunno. These are all just theories but I’m gonna stick with them for now. In the meantime, I hope this answers your Mizu.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

#mizuike #squiggles answers: rwby #oscar pine #nora valkyrie #jaune arc #lie ren #rwby theories #rwby volume 7 theories #rwby volume 7 spoilers

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real-jaune-isms · 4 years

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RWBY Volume 7 Chapter 5 Rundown

I really did not expect to get a daily huntress life montage episode, but here it was. Luckily that’s not all it was, and the ending is definitely gonna set events in motion to upset the status quo. But we can’t reach the ending unless we go to where it starts.

And it starts with Penny giving a sunrise wake up call to Team RWBY in their Atlas dorm. They’re in wall indented bunks, wearing matching Atlas Academy pajamas... and with the loose shirts it looks like they grew in more than just height over the last few Volumes, especially Weiss. Guess those dresses bind the chest pretty tightly. Or maybe they made one character model for the Atlas pajamas outfit and then changed up the face, hair, and other important details like Yang’s arm but left the torso basically the same? Regardless, they’re all very tired... except Ruby, who’s excited to start doing official Huntress work.

Next thing we know everyone’s gathered in a briefing room to get the rundown on the day’s missions, and Jaune is coerced to give his cup of coffee to Marrow. Stupid puppy dog eyes... Clover starts briefing everyone, and his monologue plays over a montage of everyone doing the very thing he’s talking about. How convenient for show with minimal tell. Most of the missions are going to be escorting supply runs out to the Amity launch site and fighting off whatever Grimm might gather around the mine or strike on the road. But since so much construction stuff is going to making Amity a communication satellite, they can’t mend the damage to Mantle’s border wall so they have to do some Attack on Titan style Garrison work and defend the wall from approaching Grimm. We see Nora adorably playing with Ren’s braid, or maybe redoing it for him that morning, before they set to work on perimeter defense. Then the Bees are seen in the mine with Marrow killing Grimm, since it is a volatile part of the launch site and worth defending. He calls their combat styles into question, specifically how they don’t seem suited to work well together and they might want to mix up who teams up with who. But they execute a flawless tag team take down on a Beowolf and that quiets him down for a bit. Let’s get into that a little, because people have been getting a lot of impressions on it. Here’s how I see it. He comes from a team where all the members were chosen specifically to compliment each other. These are girls who met and were partnered by random selection, and had to learn how to make their styles meld together, so from the outside looking in it seems disjointed but when they apply themselves they have synergy. So it’s a matter of perspective, really.

But then we get to my third favorite part of the episode, and the moment we had been teased about since RTX. Jaune is indeed helping a group of preschoolers cross the street on the way to school, with a stop sign that has six sides instead of the eight real world signs do... odd. And this earns him the attention of five flirty, posing, winking, Real. Thirsty. Moms. A sixth even comes up and gives him a casserole she made... apparently something she’s done before. And she’s not taking no for an answer, shoving it into his hands even while acting all flustered and shy. Nora is watching from nearby and attributes his mom-magnet status to the new haircut. Makes you wonder if these ladies would still be into Jaune if they knew he was only about 19?... But even this has a point. It’s still important to help out with day to day troubles and jobs around Mantle to help the public know that the huntsmen and huntresses are there to keep them safe.

Clover assures them they can use their free time however they choose, and everyone seems to take full advantage of that. The Rose-Xiao Long sisters spend their time hunting down Grimm that get into the city, while the Schnee sisters bond over strengthening Weiss’ summoning abilities... even if Winter doesn’t want to directly show praise or approval of her sister’s growing finesse. But another very practical activity emerges, training with the Ace Ops. Jaune and Ren get their butts kicked in some Atlas equivalent of the X-Men’s Danger Room by Vine and Elm respectively, but seem to learn a thing or two from the experience. Ruby tests her speed against Harriet as the two run in circles, with a little help from Weiss’ glyphs as she also gets to practice keeping up with Ruby’s movements to place the glyphs where and when she needs them. But Oscar gets the executive treatment, sparring with Ironwood himself to try and pry some of Oz’s muscle memory and fighting skills loose and hopefully bring Ozpin out too.

Next thing we know it seems to be the next morning and Ruby is excitedly telling Penny about her and Weiss’ mission the previous day complete with sound effects and wild hand gestures, while Blake drags a sluggish Yang away by the wrist to get ready for work. Jaune has learned his lesson and brought Marrow a coffee of his own, but Nora is still asleep in her chair. Can’t trust her with caffeine... Team RWBY are at varying levels of enthusiasm as they stare at the mission board, and as the days seem to fly by that energy starts to drain from all of them until its a team family napping pile. If you’re a shipper like me you can enjoy Blake sleeping with her head in Yang’s lap and Weiss leaning against Ruby’s shoulder to snooze, and if you’re not you can still enjoy the whole group comfort dynamic and Yang catching some z’s on her sister’s other shoulder. It’s a moment for all types.

But then IT happens. The best thing we could have ever hoped for all Volume. Team FNKI is Back, BABY!!!! Flynt got some fresh clothes including a jacket, while Neon wrapped her pigtails up into buns that look like cat ears and changed her whole wardrobe. She kept her cat collar-like choker and roller blades but added a white jacket connected to paw padded fingerless gloves, a crop top connected to a pair of short shorts with stars on them and a white belt by what look like suspenders, and blue leggings with a rainbow stripe down the outside and a few holes worn into it. It’s a whole ass look and she makes it work. But for all her clothing changes, her in-fight attitude is still just as bratty and insulting, calling Nora slow even as she smashes pillars to run directly at her. Ren is hiding behind a pillar and trying to shoot at... gasp, a third member of Team FNKI!!! His weapon is a whip and his outfit is mostly white and gold with a very deep cut to his shirt. Curious to see if we learn anything more about this person. But we don’t have time for that, because we bear witness to a MURDER. Neon took notice of Ren putting in so much effort against her teammate as she did a flip over him and froze Stormflower with her glowsticks, and goes for Nora’s jugular. “Where’s all that energy when he’s around you?~” ABSOLUTELY. ROASTED.

Nora takes the white and gold guy with a grenade before hopping on Magnhild and somehow riding it like a witch’s broomstick using repeated grenade shots as she chases after Neon... past Oscar fighting a guy wearing blue and black? No... it can’t be.

They based the other two members of Team FNKI on that goddamn dress meme from 2015???? You brilliant bastards... what else could we expect from the people who made a raver chick out of Nyan Cat and a jazz musician from one of their own Minecraft jokes? So JNR and Oscar are doing their best against Team FNKI, much to Ironwood’s subtle amusement. Flynt and the blue guy, whose name we later learn is Kobalt, are beaten and Neon is cornered in the center of the training room by Jaune Ren and Oscar, then ambushed from above by Nora. Even with a black eye that disappears within 4 seconds, Neon is very impressed with how much they’ve grown since the Vytal Festival. And she seems kinda flirty with Oscar, much to his flustered confusion. Jaune returns the compliment to a certain degree saying they kept them on their toes a good many times. Flynt invites them to lunch, and Nora says she could eat a sandwich the size of a human being. Kobalt, the human she was comparing its size to, is not amused that he gets hypothetical lettuce on his head. Weird how much her fantasies can affect reality like that... But before they can all head off to bond, Ironwood needs JNR+ Oscar for a mission so they promise to try and meet up again.

We shift to Ruby, Penny, Qrow and Clover in a transport bringing supplies out to the launch site and driving past a few adorable penguins, though Ruby is bored by the long drive when an airship would be faster. But Penny informs her the supplies would be too heavy and use up too much Dust fuel when they should be conserving it for coming fights. The girls have a conversation about making friends and finding time to balance between work and social lives while the men are in the back playing cards and shooting the shit. Clover keeps winning. But they still have a heart to heart about how good of an influence Qrow has been for these truly gifted kids even if he doesn’t want to give himself that credit. He tries to shift the praise back to the Ace Ops for keeping the teens safe in Atlas, but Clover says its a no brainer, since the new generation is the ones who will inherit the planet they’re still trying to save, and that hopefully they can keep the world in better shape than the current adults are leaving it for them. Some real world parallels about environmental protection and all that if you ask me, and it’s subtle enough that I don’t mind at all. Qrow confirms that he really is off the booze by saying that once upon a time he would have drank a toast to that sentiment, and Clover calls him out on his behavior. But not the alcoholism, the deflecting praise. He deserves to feel good about what he’s done, because he really has been doing a better job than he thinks.

The truck comes to a stop, and the cause is unlike anything they would have expected. Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses have set up a roadblock. Penny stays in the truck as a last resort, while the other three get out to try and talk to Robyn. She wants to know why they’re bringing stuff that could be fixing the wall and protecting Mantle to a mine in the middle of the tundra. Turns out the sheep faunus from last episode really was one of her agents and reported what she saw. You might think there would be no harm in telling Robyn that they’re trying to make Amity into a new communication tower so global communication can be restored. It’s a noble thing to do and I doubt she would object to such an ambition, even though she would have liked to know sooner. But the more people you tell about it the more chance there is the wrong people will hear it. So if Watts got word about it and told Salem she might actively choose to send a lot more Grimm to ruin the launch instead of there being a few that naturally wander onto the site. Or if Jacques found out he might make a smear campaign out of it by spinning the truth. Also, it may not be for Clover to tell.

He goes by the book in all things, so he would have to run it by Ironwood to know if this is info they can afford to share with Robyn. So he tries to play it off as getting lost out in the snow where everything looks the same, but she calls him out on it. He says Amity is at the mine for routine maintenance, but she’s not buying that either since usually only drones and select technicians do the repairs, the next tournament isn’t for a while, and the supplies they’re taking are more than what would be necessary not to mention better suited for Mantle wall repair. She demands answers for the shady military business she’s taken careful notice of, and for the materials to be handed over for the good of the people. But Clover gives that a hard pass and encourages her to focus on her political campaign so she can request materials be taken where they’re needed through the proper legal channels, especially when she shifts her questions over to Ruby and Qrow and the young huntress tries to assure her this is also for the good of Mantle. She seems very ready to fight for the sake of raiding the truck here and now, and everyone’s hands go to their weapons... until Penny pops out of the truck with her swords drawn and demands Robyn stand down and call off the camouflaged huntresses approaching the back of the truck. Guess her sensors are better than the human eye. Her pleading for Robyn to let them through peacefully works and the barrier gets taken down. But Robyn swears vengeance, she’ll get to the bottom of this secret no matter the cost. Potential antagonist? I hope not.

But enough of that tension, time for Schnee vs Schnee sparring: Weiss’ Knight vs a large Beowolf Winter spawned, but Winter has years more practice and skill so she wins a pyrrhic victory. The Knight gets slashed to death but it impaled the Beowolf with its sword. She criticizes Weiss’ technique, but it turns into a backhanded compliment that she’s made her sloppy moves a part of how she fights and makes them work for her. Weiss recognizes that’s her sister’s way of showing approval, and calls her out on being nice like that. The elder sister is mortified that her stern attitude has been called into question, but she calms down and acknowledges that Weiss has grown a lot during their time apart, she’s confident enough to make jabs like that and stand up to Dad. Winter is proud her sister has found her own independence and has made her own kinder worldview, since her own leaving the Schnee name behind was the best thing that ever happened to her. They can carve their own path together, though she still thinks Ironwood’s side is the best place to be with that path. Weiss is skeptical since she knows a bit more than the General about Salem and all that, and she doesn’t like the way the kingdom has become under his leadership, what he has let it become. Winter assures her this downward spiral is temporary and the satellite will fix everything, Ironwood is doing some tough things but it’s what he feels is right. Weiss had to deal with Ozpin keeping world shattering secrets and leading them on a deadman’s quest because he thought that would keep his self interests and plans on track, so even if she doesn’t admit that much she’s openly more skeptical. Winter stands firm that Ironwood wouldn’t keep secrets from her, but Weiss calls her on that. Can she be sure?

This is enough to spurn Winter into making a decision, to lead Weiss to the depths of Atlas Academy, through the facilities and labs and past a secure access door... to a viewing room. Overlooking a room where an old woman is resting in a hospital bed. There’s a sink and some cupboards, some paintings on the wall and an easel next to the bed, and a few medical pods on the left side of the room while the bed is on the right surrounded by health readout screens. The bedridden Winter Maiden was a painter. Oddly enough, the pictures on the wall seem to be concept art from the credits of the last few Volumes: the aquatic market in Menagerie, the Mistral train station, and the cave overlooking the forest where Nora and Ren found the Nuckelavee’s spoils of war are the ones I can recognize at the moment, but I’m sure the other 2 have relevance. But enough with the small details, let’s address the Goliath in the room. Winter has been personally attending to the Winter Maiden, named Fria, in her final days, how appropriate. In fact, that’s the plan. Winter will literally be the next Winter Maiden, so she’s the only person Fria is allowed to interact with so she can be the last person she thinks about when she dies. Which could be any day now. But I can smell a monkey wrench a mile away and there are a few that could be thrown into this plan. Fria is a very Norse sounding name so it’s possible she’s related to Nora and she could think of her in her last moments, the granddaughter she laments she may never see again after they parted so many years ago. Or if some grand attack comes to Atlas and Winter is otherwise engaged, Weiss will be the only one who knows to come bring Fria to safety and the worst might strike leaving one of our main 4 as a Maiden. All I’m saying is, there could be a lot that goes wrong. But for the moment, Winter is ready to take on this responsibility even if it seems like a dick move of Jimmy to have her volun-told to be next in line. But she calls back to Weiss’ growth and accepting what she can’t control. Her entire military career may have been a paved road to this outcome, but she’ll still make her own choices along the way and be the Maiden her way to make a real difference in the world with these powers. It’s not for Ironwood or their Father’s sake, but for herself.

Unfortunately, speaking of Father and doing things your own way, Jacques holds a press conference to proclaim how Ironwood’s embargo have caused everyone to suffer equally, himself included. That’s a load of garbage, he’s just moody that he’s 5% less rich and dropping. But he also announces that he will be closing down every SDC owned business that isn’t Dust mining and refining. It’s a “necessary measure” with how the embargo is effecting businesses and making it supposedly nonviable for those businesses to stay open and still be effective. Another lie, he just doesn’t want to have more money leaving his pocket as employee wages. This is clearly part of the strategy Watts suggested to him, keep as many doors closed as possible so he can horde the wealth he still has while spinning it to be Ironwood’s fault. He comes off as another victim doing what is necessary so people don’t hate him directly for it and he can win voter support. And it’s not like Robyn Hill can do anything to make the SDC give people their jobs back, so why vote for her? It’s a seemingly perfect plan, as infuriating as that is to admit. And it sure sets off the people of Mantle, as they start a riot in the streets. Guess our good boys and girls will have to deal with that some time soon.

A whole lot to think about while we wait for next weekend’s episode. But it was still a very good chapter in my opinion. What did you think?

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a-nerd-obsessed · 5 years

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Another Long, Unnecessary, and Obvious Star Wars Trailer Breakdown (Read: Wild Speculation) that Literally No One Asked For

So, obviously, it begins with Rey breathing hard, not unlike the trailer for TLJ. The trailer for TFA also began with breathing, except it was Finn. That’s mildly interesting, because in marketing for TFA, Finn was the decoy for the main Force-sensitive protagonist which actually turned out to be Rey. That means literally nothing but there you go.

Then we see Rey, alone.

She’s on a desert planet, possibly Tatooine, although that seems like too strong of a reference to ROJ in my unfounded opinion. It could be a part of Jakku we haven’t seen before too. But who knows.

But look at Rey: she’s calming herself, readying herself for whatever’s coming on the horizon.

And she looks ready. I mean, look at those awesome new Jedi-esque threads. The definition on those biceps. That Skywalker lightsaber, mended and functional like it’s no big deal, like we haven’t been freaking out over how she was going to repair it and what color it would be, but whatever - apparently she’s got this Force thing figured out.

We’ve passed on all we know

A thousand generations live in you now

I’m going to be generous and say that Luke is talking to both Rey and Ben Solo. I mean, with the exception of maybe the Knights of Ren, they’re the only two living Force-sensitives (in the purview of the main saga) who have been taught by a Jedi.

Now it could be just talking to Rey, especially since she has the physical representation of that knowledge in the Jedi texts, but we know Luke Skywalker is not done with Ben Solo - ”See you around, kid.” Also, Ben Solo is the legacy of the most influential family of Force-users in the galaxy, so I don’t see a way that, “a thousand generations live in you now,” doesn’t apply to him as well.

Now we hear that signature scream of a ion engine as the camera looks beyond our girl Rey to see a TIE fighter coming in low across the desert.

If you’ll notice, the angle of the sunlight is different in these shots. It’s behind her, then in front, behind, in front. I honestly can’t tell from the backgrounds, but these could be different places, or just different times. So she could have been standing there a really long time, just chilling.

Or, it could be JJ screwing with the time of day per his directorial whims again. Like in TFA, when the TIE fighters are coming in across Nymeve Lake on Takodana? Silhouetted against the setting sun? Yeah, in every other shot of that battle it’s a lot closer to noon than it is to sunset. So the angle of the sun could be nothing.

Still, whatever’s happening with the sun, it’s clear she’s expecting this bad boy to show up:

(Side note: two of my favorite sounds from SW is a lightsaber ignition and a TIE fighter engine - like, chills, every time).

But this is your fight

Again, I’m gonna say Luke is talking to both of them, and not in a you-two-need-to-stop-fighting-sit-down-figure-it-out-and-apologize-to-each-other kind of way, but a you-two-need-to-figure-out-how-to-defeat-the-bad-guy-together kind of way.

Which leads me to my overarching assumption: This is a team-up movie

Exhibit A:

He’s flying low. Really low. And to clarify, when I say “he,” I mean Ben Solo/Kylo Ren. Like when we’ve seen TIE fighters on strafing runs before (think the attack on Niima Outpost and Maz’s castle), they haven’t gone this low. Also, going low confuses their tracking according to Finn in TFA. He’s not targeting her using the tools at his disposal. And why go so low that she could literally gut his personally-designed ride with her lightsaber? This doesn’t seem like intent to kill here.

Exhibit B:

Rey knows he’s coming, and she’s ready. This is not her look from their duel on Starkiller, when she absolutely hated him and thought of him only as a patricidal maniac, or from the first few Force bond scenes, when she cusses him out. Not to get technical, but there’s a lot more teeth bared when she’s feeling murderous. No, this is the look she has when she’s totally in sync with someone, that someone being Ben Solo. Think the TLJ throne room fight.

Exhibit C:

He’s not shooting. If he was going to kill Rey, it definitely wouldn’t be by running her down with his sweet-ass custom TIE fighter. And it more than likely wouldn’t be by gunning her down either. This boy has Skywalker blood - if he kills someone he’s holding a grudge against, it’s gotta be up close and personal. That’s the only way to do it. San Tekka, Han, Snoke, Luke: all by lightsaber to the gut or chest.

All that is moot anyway because he’s not trying to kill her. Please. Really? Did you see their last scene together in TLJ? That sad sappy look in his eyes as she left him? Ain’t no way that boy could kill her.

Okay, and full disclosure, I got a little bit of an adrenaline rush when I watched this next part. Brace yourself.

Okay, totally badass, amirite?

But what are they trying to do here? I don’t know. Nobody does. If they tell you they do, they’re lying. Unless it’s JJ Abrams.

What I think they’re doing is NOT trying to kill each other. This is a coordinated stunt, possible multiple times. If you notice just in this GIF alone, two different angles for the sunlight.

Now what’s the goal then? For her to hitch a ride? Possible, although my logical brain starts calculating physics and thinks about the durability of the human body and I’m just like... yikes. But then again, that’s what the Force is for, right?

Another part of me just thinks she’s flipping over his ship based on her trajectory in the last frame before it fades to black, like a tuck and roll scenario. So, extreme training, then. I don’t blame them. If I had fun toys like that, I’d use them too.

If you want, here’s some great theorizing on this sequence by @gwendy85, also some here by @spacesoapopera

Then we dive into the rest of the trailer. We have this unknown ship that seems to appear a few times, so maybe it’s what our Resistance buddies are using for interplanetary travel. Also I’m super excited for this new planet because with the exception of Vandor in the Solo movie, we haven’t had a lot of mountainous worlds. It looks like there’s some kind of city/settlement at high elevation with all the clouds and snow blowing around. Consider my interest... piqued :)

Then there’s this. Mmm. 😏

This is the first time we’ve seen Kylo Ren fighting like this. So far his personal acts of violence have been either execution, interrogation, or dueling. But here, this is him on the ground, fighting alongside his troops.

I am ready.

Although it does beg the question, what are they pushing towards that would cause him to get so directly involved, especially since he’s the Supreme Leader now? Or maybe something happened (Hux’s coup?) so he doesn’t have the manpower to do the dirty work anymore which means he has to handle it himself. Of course, we haven’t seen much of his leadership style. He could be a hands-on kind of guy. I don’t know, but it’s got to be big - or personal.

Also, sorry, but the guy that Kylo is demolishing here is not the same guy Kylo stabbed in Rey’s Force vision from TFA - he doesn’t have the same weapon, although they may be connected. Plus, there’s more than one of these guys. If you watch the actual trailer, you can see a similarly dressed person run in from the right just before the jump. So, sadly, I don’t think this is a Knight of Ren, although that would be frickin’ AWESOME.

Speaking of things that are not, that’s not Kylo’s hands in this scene repairing the helmet. Although my boy is definitely embracing the First Order color scheme with the red accents on his helmet and TIE fighter. I’m a fan of all-black myself, but the Supreme Leader’s gotta represent. Interesting to note, however, that in the one scene of Kylo Ren we have in the trailer, he is sans helmet. It’ll be fun to see how the timeline of these shots works out.

MA BOYS.

And damn do they look fine.

Presumably they’re on that same desert planet that Rey and Kylo were on, practicing flips earlier in the trailer. So how did Rey get to be alone? When does Kylo show up? Is Finn holding Rey’s staff? What’s their objective here? SO MANY QUESTIONS.

And meet D-0, BB-8′s adorable new pal. I’m already in love. Droids are honestly some of the most underappreciated characters throughout the SW saga as L3 would be quick to tell you. Except maybe for Chewbacca, who doesn’t get nearly enough credit for all the shit he’s had to put up with.

And here he is with LANDO CALRISSIAN. The best thing to happen to the Solo movie, and I’m sure he’ll be amazing in TROS too. I may also die if he and/or Chewie get a moment to speak with Ben, so if you don’t hear from me after December, that’s why.

This is also the only time we see the Falcon. We do see shots of other ships that could be what our Resistance friends are using, although one does go down if fiery flames.

Our dashing duo again, always getting in trouble. I can’t tell you how excited I am for them to actually get to go on an adventure together along with Rey (and C-3PO of all people lmao). Yes, their journeys have be strongly intertwined in the last two movies, but getting to see them interact and observe their dynamics... I am ready.

And I’m just gonna say it. Poe Dameron and Finn are hot. Like, the Episode IX look for both of them is just so delicious, I love it.

Anyway, we get a brief glimpse of some action sequences: Stormtroopers with jet packs, maybe, chasing our Resistance darlings, and a ship getting shot down in a battle involving a Star Destroyer, maybe related to the shot of Kylo fighting on the ground earlier in the trailer?

This is clearly Leia’s hands. Don’t argue with me.

And she’s holding one of the medals she awarded to Han and Luke at the end of ANH. But which one? And why? You know, besides making me ugly cry.

Then JJ Abrams and Lucasfilm just decided to sucker punch the world with this shot of Leia and Rey embracing.

It blows my mind how quickly these two latched on to each other with such affection, and the implicit trust we’ve seen in their brief scenes together in TFA and TLJ. I know Leia’s story in this movie is going to stab me in the heart.

Also, the background has that temperate forest look, so maybe it’s the same place as in the still of Rey trekking through a forest that you can see here along with several others.

Now, when does this happen, before or after the chase on the desert planet? I don’t know, but I’d like to think this is the same planet where Kylo Ren is body-slamming that guy to the ground because that’s also in a forest, although it’s looking pretty wrecked when Kylo’s there.

And maybe - don’t hate me - maybe Kylo’s in full-on battle mode, mowing down everything in his way, because something happened to Leia.

Total speculation, but something’s gonna happen, right?

And then this. Hell to the yes.

I’m just going to assume this is the second Death Star. I mean, this is either the first Death Star on Yavin or the second Death Star on Endor’s forest moon. It seems like it has a fairly temperate climate, not tropical like Yavin IV has. And at this point I’m assuming it’s the same planet with the other forest scenes, but we have such limited footage (literally less than three minutes) there’s no telling what’s happening.

But they’ve come a long way to get here, and this is a big moment. Something’s out there, something they need, something they have to do.

(Also there’s another great theory about what’s going to happen here by @gwendy85)

We’ll always be with you

No one’s ever really gone

FADE TO BLACK.

PaLpAtInE’s CaCkLe😱😱😱

THE RISE OF SKYWALKER !!!?!?

So.

LISTEN UP PEOPLE! Kylo Ren is not the big bad. And he never has been. That’s gonna be the Emperor, every time.

And the only way to take that bad bitch down is if Rey and Kylo team up, y’all. Don’t argue me on this one.

Bonus: The music is optimistic throughout the trailer, and when the title is revealed, we get Kylo Ren’s (or should I say Ben’s?) theme taking a hopeful twist.

That’s it. That’s the story.

Now.

People that were missing from the footage:

General Armitage Hux

Rose Tico

a new character, Jannah, played by Naomi Ackie

Kerri Russell’s character

Richard E. Grant’s character

(Thanks @nancylovesreylo for pointing out ones I’d missed!)

Obviously it’s a teaser, and you can only throw so much in, but it’s still curious to wonder at the choices they made. Granted, these characters can be found in still images or have been discussed in interviews, but we weren’t able to see them in action yet. Why? What are they up to?

Anyway, I want to hear your thoughts! If you have answers to my questions, I want to know!

#star wars #the rise of skywalker #tros #reylo #trailer breakdown #star wars trailer #episode ix spoilers #tros spoilers #episode ix speculation #tros speculation

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yougotcrit · 4 years

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Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

I have always loved Star Wars. As a kid I would watch the original trilogy endlessly on VHS, alongside my 90′s era action figures and my Action Fleet ships with the little mini figures inside. When that wasn’t enough I played games like Dark Forces and Rogue Squadron, and when that wasn’t enough I read the extended universe books. I was a loyal and knowledgeable fan.

So when the time came and the prequel films were released you could easily guess my initial excitement and subsequent disappointment going in and out of the theater. I believe most Star Wars fans experienced similar emotions. But despite their terribleness, the prequels never killed my love of Star Wars. Sure, those films did many, many, many things wrong, but they inexplicably still felt like Star Wars. It’s hard to explain, but in any case, I was a still a fan and I still loved Star Wars.

When Disney snatched up Lucasfilm in 2012, I was optimistic. Sure they’re evil, but they’d been doing great things with Marvel and a Star Wars without George Lucas could prove to be beneficial. I mean, the films couldn’t get any worse than this, right?

Star Wars could only go up from here.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015), while just a rehash of A New Hope (1977), was what the fans and critics had wanted for years. It felt like a Star Wars film: from its practical effects to its locations, its characters to its themes; this was Star Wars. Yes, it had its shortcomings, but overall it was fun and ticked all the right boxes. But most important of all was the potential it built. So much potential. There were so many questions, so many possibilities, so many outcomes, characters and story arcs to explore by the end of the film that it seemed certain that we were in for a fun ride for the next two movies.

Wasted potential: Exhibit A

And then The Last Jedi (2018) came and s*** the bed. Not just in Star Wars terms, but in cinematic terms. This movie s*** the bed. I could rant on for hours why and how The Last Jedi screwed everything up, but the big takeaway is that it took all that potential from The Force Awakens and either ignored it or wasted it. And by doing so, the film killed any interest I had for Episode IX, or Star Wars in general. The film is two and a half hours of subverted expectations where nothing is accomplished and even less is explained. There are exactly TWO cool action sequences (you know which ones), but the film is just people frantically running around or standing around with no payoff in the end. The story doesn’t really go anywhere. The film left a bad taste in my mouth that even the prequels had never done before, and for the first time ever I actually didn’t care about what the future would hold for Star Wars.

But now Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) is here to right the wrongs, clean up the mess that The Last Jedi left, and somehow limp across the finish line. Unfortunately, like its predecessor, it decided to ignore much of what had been established in the previous film. I’m not so sure if I mind this, but I should, because that was my main complaint for The Last Jedi. But at the same time I’m thankful because this means we can forget about much of the stupid that happened in The Last Jedi and move on with our lives.

Yep. Just going to ignore this.

There’s a lot packed in The Rise of Skywalker. Too much, in fact. Because The Last Jedi wasted a movie’s worth of plot accomplishing nothing, Episode IX is forced to cram in two movie’s worth of information, characters, story and cameos. The movie has a good handle of what it wanted for Rey and Kylo Ren, but it still didn’t know what to do with Finn and Poe. They spend their time trying to keep up with Rey and find reasons to be in the movie.

Now before I go further, I’ll say that this film is better than The Last Jedi. By default. There are enjoyable parts and emotional moments, but it’s just not the grand finale we were all hoping for to tie all nine films together. The film is a confirmation that Disney’s trilogy was just following the same template as the original all along, and that they only had a vague notion of what the story would be.

To move the plot along The Rise of Skywalker implemented some unlikely threats and conflicts as the heroes set off on a wild goose chase throughout the galaxy. It’s never just cut and dry; one problem just leads to another that can only be solved on the next set location. There are times when the film stops dead and others when a million things are happening at once, making for some erratic pacing. A dozen new characters are introduced, yet none of them really matter. There’s plenty of fan serving cameos, but I’ve never experienced so many aggressively forced cameos like that before.

So this is where we leave one of my favorite franchises of all time, on the shores of mediocrity. But in the end I’m thankful for more Star Wars, for better or for worse. I know this won’t be the real end, just the conclusion of the Skywalker story line. You’d be crazy to think that Disney was done. On the bright side, you can view the Disney trilogy as one side to a crappy little bookend for the Star Wars saga, with the prequels book-ending the other side of a near perfect trilogy that was started a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker,

You Got Crit

#star wars #you got crit #the rise of skywalker #star wars episode ix #star wars the rise of skywalker #rey #kylo ren #Disney #movie review #review

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culturejunkies · 4 years

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

By Kenshiro

A whole lot has been made of Rise of Skywalker, Episode IX in the Skywalker Saga of films that began the Star Wars franchise in 1977. Its been 42 years since that movie came out, and the level of fan craziness has perhaps never been more high than it is now. It says a lot about a franchise that it incites fans to near riot levels of outrage when a film comes out. Star Wars fans are very…passionate. They love this universe possibly more than any other modern fictional franchise in existence. Many of us have, myself included, literally grown up with it being our form of mythological content to fantasize about. But despite our best wishes, the endless tomes of fanfiction fueled by our fantasies, or hours of YouTube videos publishing our fan theories, we do not own the franchise, nor do we get to make the stories within them canon to the lore its built upon. We can only sit back, watch, and hopefully enjoy what we are presented with. That fact won’t stop people from being displeased with the results however and unfortunately, Rise of Skywalker will also, like with The Last Jedi, not please everyone. It did make the fan in me very satisfied, even though I acknowledge it isn’t perfect.

The film takes place well after The Last Jedi, with the Resistance on the run constantly from Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Supreme Leader of The First Order, successor to the Galactic Empire brought to power by Emperor Palpatine. They are running out of hope for a way to win the war and finally end the oppressive forces against them. Rey, (Daisy Ridley) no longer obsessed with finding out her lineage, is honing her skills within The Force, under the tutelage of General Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher) herself, and she is shown to have incredible control over The Force so far. Despite all this, she still seeks a connection to SOMETHING, some greater destiny she has yet to discover.

Regardless of how you feel, Rey’s lineage factors heavily into the story.

Finn has fully grown into his role as a leader of the Resistance along with Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac) and they follow up on a lead that a spy within The First Order may provide them with the lead they need to turn the tide once and for all, and following up that lead has confirmed their very worst fears…Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) has returned and has a fleet with Starkiller Weapons mounted on hundreds of Star Destroyers waiting to wipe out any resistance to his ambition to resume power over the Galaxy. Finding that the old Jedi Texts that Rey took from Ahch-To knew they way to find where Palpatine has hidden himself, Rey, Finn, Poe and Chewbacca along with C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) embark on the quest to get to Palpatine first and end him once and for all.

Now this seems of course like the most Star Wars cookie-cutter plot ever, and of course it is. The only controversy here is that many of the plot threads from The Last Jedi seemingly have been ignored, reversed or brushed aside. No one in the film got the shaft bigger than Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico who was controversially thrust into prominence in The Last Jedi as Finn’s love interest. Rose is relegated to the biggest afterthought in the film and it’s quite jarring, even if one can reasonably understand that the character had very little to do given her background. Still, it would have been nice to find a way for them to explore Rose Tico in more depth. This might be the most egregious transgression Disney and director J.J. Abrams could commit, as it appears on the surface that they caved to fan outrage over her character being forced upon them in some measure of diversity ploy. The optics behind her demotion seem very bad, there’s no way to sugarcoat that.

The film could be viewed in a way as a vehicle to redeem Kylo Ren as well as reveal the still hidden secrets behind Rey herself, as these elements take precedent over everything else in the film. Ren is easily manipulated by the notion of killing Palpatine himself and ascending to the levels of power that his grandfather Darth Vader never did. Rey, for her part is once again presented with the temptation of discovering who her family was, and the obsession grows even stronger endangering her friends in the process. The two are, as evidenced in The Last Jedi, tied together in some way, that is conveniently explained in the only way Star Wars knows, very vaguely.

Rose Tico fans have room for a serious gripe with Rise of Skywalker. She barely factors into anything.

The film takes you on a very wild ride, rushing through some plotlines with blunt force, but it never stops being entertaining especially the third act which has the awaited showdown between Rey and Palpatine. Kylo Ren’s storyline wraps in a fashion that will leave many feeling unsatisfied in the journey to get there, but the end is one we could all live with. The revelation that Rey is in actuality the granddaughter of Emporer Palpatine will also make many fans angry for one reason or another, but that isn’t enough to stunt the story’s epic finale, it only increases it in my view. The end of the film ties up the end of the Skywalker saga in a somewhat messy bow, but I myself found very little to actually dislike about the film, even with the drawbacks listed in this review. The treats for fans of the series were plentiful. Seeing old faces (WEDGE ANTILLIES! Wicket!) and even old voices (Hayden Christiansen as Anakin, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu) and new ones (Freddie Prinze Jr. as Kanan Jarrus and Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano) were some real treats, and it was so awesome for them to find a way to immortalize legendary music composer John Williams as well.

While it could certainly be said that perhaps the entire sequel trilogy of films leading up to this one, has fallen victim to curious choices by the many hands in the kitchen. It’s certainly not as bad as the critics are making it seem in my eyes, and oddly the ones who hated The Last Jedi love it, and conversely some who loved Last Jedi don’t like this one. I would absolutely recommend every person who has been a fan of Star Wars to watch the end of the saga, and form your own opinion on what makes the film good or bad. One thing can be said for certain, the galaxy far, far away now has a clean slate to which to work from.

#Star Wars #Movies

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ao3feed--reylo · 5 years

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The Witch King

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2Frfds4

by nite0wl29

The fight for Middle Earth begins as the Ring of Power has been found. Once forged by the Dark Lord Sidious himself, his watchful eye upholds an iron fist over the kingdoms while 9 servants, doomed to eternally serve the Dark Lord and the One Ring, spread terror and violence throughout their tireless search. While the fate of Middle Earth rests upon the shoulders of those in the Fellowship of the One Ring, a lowly woodland elf holds onto hope that her lost love is alive after years of being presumed dead when a scouting mission goes awry. Little does she know that the deceased Alderaanian Elven Prince - Ben Solo - resides as Kylo Ren, the Witch King of Mustafar and Leader of the Ringwraiths, seeking havoc and chaos across Middle Earth. Can the soul of Ben Solo be saved from the partial wraith he's become, or is it possible that he'll remain bound to an eternal life of darkness?

Words: 4843, Chapters: 1/10, Language: English

Fandoms: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M

Characters: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey (Star Wars), Poe Dameron, Leia Organa, Ahsoka Tano, Finn, Armitage Hux, Snoke (Star Wars), BB-8 (Star Wars)

Relationships: Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Kylo Ren, Kylo Ren/Rey

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, The Lord of the Rings References, Ringwraith Kylo Ren, Ben Solo is a Lothlorien Elf, Rey is a Mirkwood Elf, so is poe, Can you believe I'm finally making Poe nice?, The Ben Solo pain train is real in this one, be prepared for a wild ride, Wraith Smut, Enemies to Lovers, kind of, They have HISTORY, Kylo just doesn't remember, Memory Loss, Angst, Lots of Angst!, I promise there will be a HEA, I'm talking hobbits, orcs and all, The other wraiths are the Knights of Ren

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2Frfds4

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #Star Wars #Reylo #Kylo Ren #Rey

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frederator-studios · 6 years

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Derek Iversen: The Frederator Interview

Derek Iversen began his unlikely career in animation as a PA on the very first season of Spongebob Squarepants. You might say he was got by The Hook: he spent about a decade with the show, on the production staff before becoming a writer on Seasons 6-9. Since then, he’s written on countless awesome TV shows, become an elected official in the neighborhood of Valley Glen (business card and all!), and created his own Nickelodeon short, “Carrot and Stick” inspired by his dog Rosie, whose image blesses the end of this interview. In honor of his episode of Bravest Warriors premiering tomorrow (5/18), Derek and I sat down to discuss sketch comedy, time travel, and a certain absorbent (and yellow and porous) friend.

Did you always want to be a writer? What’d you want to be growing up?

First I wanted to be a fireman. Then a police officer - huge jump there. Then I wanted to be an astronaut, until I realized I get motion sickness. So I thought I should be an astronomer - a little safer, little less barfing. But in 5th grade, my English teacher Mrs. Carrol gave me high marks on a short story assignment. I got really encouraged by that; I thought, “Hey, maybe I’ve found something I’m good at!” So pretty much from then on, I wanted to be a writer.

Wow, 5th grade? Were you a wunderkind, writing a ton as a kid?

Nah, I wasn’t that ambitious. In high school I took Theater with another great teacher, Mrs. Carrick. She encouraged us to write our own scenes and monologues. So I had the opportunity to try stuff out with my fellow students, and hopefully crack them up with idiocy. Then in college at University of Arizona, I joined a group called Comedy Corner and got really into sketch comedy. I thought if I could make a living doing that, THAT’s what I want to do. There’s nothing like doing live comedy before an audience. It’s thrilling.

Did you stick with comedy after college?

Some friends and I formed our own group! The People Who Do That. We became the kings of Tucson comedy… which, shockingly, didn’t pay the bills. So some of us decided to truck it out to LA to try to make it in the big city.

Did you have a job when you got to LA?

Nope, but I got a really stupid one: phone customer service for a pager company. Let me just say, the introduction of cell phones was NOT the only thing that killed off pagers… but I had a friend working at Nickelodeon, so I managed to get a job as a driver on The Angry Beavers. This was back in the olden days, when if artists needed reference materials, someone had to actually go pick them up from libraries or - RIP - video stores. Soon after, I got a job as a production assistant on a show that Nick had just picked up: Spongebob Squarepants. At the time we all thought, ‘This is a strange little show that hopefully will get a cult following.’ It did a little better than that. So that was kind of my ‘big break’. But it took me 7 years of working on the show to become a writer on it.

How did that path look?

Long and meandering. Because for some time, I thought I wanted to do sketch comedy, and that animation was my day job. I was a PA on seasons 1 to 3 and a coordinator on seasons 4 and 5. In that time I started chipping away at animation writing, because I had to actually learn how to write cartoons. I was used to writing for the stage, and animation is a visual medium. Much more so than even other kinds of TV, let alone theater, so I had to learn to tell stories visually. And stories that kids could relate to—I’d always written for adults, so my stuff went right over kid’s heads. But I wanted to write and kept knocking on the door, and in season 6, became a staff writer. I was one until season 9.

Do you think your background in sketch comedy aided that transition?

Oh yeah, absolutely. When you do a sketch in front of a big throng of crazy college students, it’s clear when it works and when it doesn’t. Sketch taught me not to waste the audience’s time: you get in, do the joke, and get out.

How was working on Spongebob? Any stories, secrets, lore?

It was a wild ride and a lot of fun. I’ve gotta be the only one who remembers this, but I swear it’s true: back in the first season, Steve (Hillenburg, creator) had a sign on his door that read, “Have fun or you’re fired.” It sounds cruel, but it actually set a good tone. We did have a lot of fun! And there wasn't much firing—it’s not like the hatchet fell every time somebody frowned. The crew had awesome camaraderie, and I think that’s reflected in the show. I sincerely believe the environment of a show, how it’s made, affects how it turns out. If a show is made with a tense crew where everyone fears the creator, it shows on-screen. Conversely, if the crew has fun and makes each other laugh, that’s clear on-screen too.

(Season 1 Christmas party: Ennio Torresan, Carly Benner-StClair, Bruce Heller, Mica Nataami, Carl (CH) Greenblatt, and Derek with the devil horns.)

So despite the sign, no one was afraid of Steve Hillenburg?

No, no, the sign is misleading. He’s a total sweetheart. Success couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy: just a thoughtful, funny, sincere human being.

That’s exactly what you wanna hear about your heroes. What’s your favorite thing about the show?

Well Spongebob is definitely a reflection of Steve! As are the other characters, but mostly Spongebob. And to me, the greatest thing about the show, and the reason I think it’s been such a huge success, is that Spongebob is genuine. He’s without guile. He’s enthusiastic without any reservation. And I think, especially when the show came out, a lot of cartoons in the kid realm starred adults disguised as kids. And Spongebob was never that; he was always for kids, always had a kid’s spirit. That’s part of why we never defined his age: he has kid and adult qualities. He’s just sincere—and sincerity is underrated.

Do you have a favorite Spongebob episode?

Man... that’s like choosing a favorite child. But I’ll go ahead and do it. I have several favorites. One is “SB-129”. I’m a bit of a sucker for time travel - it’s part of why I enjoy Bravest Warriors so much. “The Fun Show” is awesome too, it’s a classic. Of episodes I wrote, “Not Normal” was my first and still a favorite. It’s a bit autobiographical: I was a weird kid and always felt like I needed to conform to some idea of normality. After a while, I decided that didn’t matter and I was going to accept being my weird self. And the same is true of Spongebob.

(Mr. Lawrence (aka Plankton), Vincent Waller, and Derek.)

How did you come to write for Bravest Warriors?

After Spongebob, I was a staff writer on Sanjay and Craig, which Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi executive produced. They’re great guys and a blast to work with. They'd also produced Bravest, so I found out about the show through them. I watched it and just thought it was madness in the best possible way. Last year Will mentioned they were looking for writers, so I gave it a shot. I really wanted to be part of the show and feel lucky that I got to be!

What are your favorite things about Bravest Warriors?

I love time travel and sci-fi, and you get both of those in BW. That’s a treat. But I love that it also goes right to the heart of teen angst. That’s a sandbox I don’t get to play in a lot, as I’m usually writing for kids or preschoolers. It’s a lot of fun to deal with broken hearts, romantic attraction, all that gooey hormonal stuff.

Do you have a favorite character from the show?

I like Danny a lot, because he’s kinda pathetic. I just want to help him out. But I can’t resist Catbug. He’s amazing. And I’m a big fan of Impossibear. Something about his gruffness... he’s selfish in a way that reminds me of Bender from Futurama. If I ever got to do another BW episode, I’d want it to be about Impossibear. Finding the mushy heart he hides inside.

What is your episode, “A Apple, B Banana, C Chili” about?

I did a sort of anti-consumerist screed cleverly disguised as a Bravest Warriors episode. The team succumbs to the power of marketing. They have to escape the clutches of a Costco-like superstore. It seemed like a uniquely weird challenge they hadn’t faced before. I think that’s why it was chosen from the ideas I pitched—when you’re pitching on a show with a lot of episodes, you’ve got to find the part of the floor that hasn’t been painted yet.

Aha - don’t they go in that store to grab Wallow a snack?

Haha yeah. Wallow gets hangry on a mission so they go to buy him some chips or a granola bar or something and it goes terribly wrong. I love episodes like that - we did it on Spongebob too - where it’s the simplest possible objective. The goal of the episode is one tiny thing, and then it balloons out from there and becomes ridiculously huge in a way it never deserved to be.

What would you be if you weren’t a TV writer?

Maybe a lawyer. Or a crazy activist trying to make the world a better place and not getting very far. I’d probably be quitting my job at the EPA right now out of sheer frustration. At least writing cartoons, I can express the absurdity of our world—but hopefully to make people laugh, instead of cry.

What are your favorite cartoons?

Well, Spongebob’s pretty darn good. I always loved Ren and Stimpy, the latest news notwithstanding. I’m a simple man: I love Road Runner. I couldn’t resist the simplicity of the gags. You always know what’s going to happen - Road Runner’s gonna get away and Wile E. Coyote is gonna eat it. But you don’t know how he’s gonna eat it. The magic is in the details. I’m a big fan of The Simpsons. And I enjoyed Aqua Teen Hunger Force; Master Shake cracks me up. I love how stupid and petty he is.

After writing for so long, is it ever still challenging?

Absolutely, it’s always a challenge. I think a lot of people struggle with being too precious with their ideas. It’s a collaborative medium: stories change and change and change again. You can accept compromises and look for the good in them, or you can fight against them. My view is, you have to choose your battles. Even the creator doesn’t have complete control. And the best creators and showrunners delegate responsibilities. They trust the people they’ve hired.

Do you pitch show ideas around?

I haven’t as much lately; I’m busy story editing a preschool show now called Hanni and the Wild Woods. But I made a Nickelodeon short a few years back with my friend Miles Hindman, called “Carrot and Stick,” about a pair of buddies who live in a junkyard. Their nemesis is a dog named Rosie, based on my own dog Rosie. It’s a mixed media show - a combination of puppets, live action and 2D - so we wanted her to play herself. It didn’t work out. She’s cute and all, but cute doesn’t make you a good actor…

(Rosie, sweet and perfect in every conceivable way aside from acting ability.)

What else are you working on?

Well besides Hanni, I just got back from teaching an Animation Writing class in Jamaica for a few weeks - that was amazing. It was through The World Bank; they’re trying to build an animation industry over there. I’m glad they found me, it was a ton of fun and some of the student’s ideas were really cool. I also have a YA sci-fi book I really want to write. The trick is finding the time to do it; it keeps eluding me. Earlier I said animation is very collaborative - not so with this book. I have a very specific vision, and I’m excited to tell exactly the story I want to tell. I also write as Spongebob and Patrick on their Twitter accounts - which is a tougher gig than it sounds! All of the 140 character zingers have to be contained to their universe. But it’s fun and keeps me connected to the characters, and I love that.

Thank you for the interview Derek! So much fun talking with you. Good luck on all your many projects, I’ll be on the lookout!

- Cooper

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winterofherdiscontent · 6 years

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new follower here when did you start shipping Reylo?

well lovely anon. let me put it this way. i posted my first ever kylo ren sketch on dec. 18 2015 and then on dec. 22 2015 i put up the first ever sketch i started on of what would later become known as the ship reylo. at that time from what i recall the tumblr tags referred to it as either rey/kylo or “what even tf that is not a ship you disgusting people”…

i’ve been here from the very first. and i don’t say that as an elitist or gatekeeping statement – i am so incredibly thrilled at the influx of new shippers over time and with the arrival of swtlj i’m also a firm believer that it doesn’t matter when or how you discover a ship / in the context of who started when etc.

i’m giving you background of my personal journey with the start of this ship / of how much i’ve seen this ship grow despite all the odds basically.

i recall when swtfa initially landed in cinemas (i’m talking just a few hours after it aired worldwide) there was maybe a grand total of 3 blogs talking about the characters Kylo Ren and Rey. there was no ship name. i remember when the first tentative post went around offering up suggestions before reylo was decided on. somehow. the specifics are vague. it was a while ago.

i remember when this was literally the only reaction gif you could find in the reylo tag in the beginning:

this ask got me to thinking …i remember the ship setting sail. the infighting, the absolute joy of people discovering a new ship. and then the antis.

i’ve never seen the birth of a fandom ship. i had no preparation for the absolute utter hatred that this ship seemed to incite in certain sectors.

i remember the imploding and explosion of sub-sections within the ship. and when anti hate was at its worst on my art blog mid 2016 i seriously debated deleting and disappearing (at that time i was getting serious hate and suicide baiting etc.)

so yeah. that’s my experience with star wars and specifically the fandom ship reylo. there’s a reason i personally refer to it as – the dread ship reylo.

this ship unlike any other i’ve seen personally has incited such love and such hate. and yet. when i was sitting in the theatre watching the last jedi. as i realised where the writers were going toward episode 9. i won’t lie i lost my shit. popcorn was flying. i was blindsided.

its been a wild ride anon aboard the dread ship reylo.

long may she sail

#replies #anons #tw gif warning #reylo #swtlj #swtfa

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evenstevensranked · 6 years

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#12: Season 1, Episode 15 - “Heck of a Hanukkah”

After sneaking a peek at -- and accidentally breaking -- all of his family’s Hanukkah presents, Louis gets grounded for the holiday and believes the Stevens tribe would be better if he was never born. He travels through time and space “It's A Wonderful Life” style thanks to the guidance of his great Bubbe Rose, who shows him what a world without Louis Stevens would actually be like.

First off, I'd like to point out that I own this episode on an official Disney Holiday DVD. So I took that as an opportunity to have HQ screenshots for once!!! :) But, yes. This is the obligatory "Christmas episode" which I’m pretty positive every single TV series has. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like Christmas episodes can tend to be forgettable and generic. This one, however, is such a classic.

One thing I wanna mention before we dive into this thing: This episode is filmed weirdly. It has a very “soap opera” feel to it? Is it possible that it was shot at 60fps? That’s the only explanation I can think of. It always bothered me that this is the only episode out of all 65 that looks and feels entirely different than the others. I wonder why that is...? That being said, I always had such fond memories of this one.

It opens with Louis snooping around in Ren’s closet for their Hanukkah presents. (“Give it up, Louis. You are never going to find them!”) But, you see... he’s determined to find them because he’s Louis Stevens and this is what he does.

This leads into a bit where Ren chases Louis into Donnie’s room and Louis “accidentally” (but Shia is obviously doing it purposely) knocks over all of Donnie’s trophies on the way out. THIS BOTHERS ME SO MUCH! What the heck?

He’s literally fine, and then... he just sticks his arm out, lol. Also, are all of the shelves magically connected? Why do those upper shelves collapse when Louis only wrecked the lower one? Questions.

Louis keeps running and eventually ends up in the basement. He concludes that the presents must be down there somewhere. They chose to add this weird effect here where Louis’ mind works like a high tech computer, allowing him to scan and successfully know where the presents aren’t just by looking at the potential hiding places:

He doesn’t even TRY to check these places. He just knows. I swear, when I was a kid I genuinely thought this was some plot twist and Louis was actually a cyborg like Cookie from “Ned’s Declassified” this whole time or something.

Of course, Louis finds the presents in a trunk with the clever message “Louis, please clean out this trunk!” taped to it. Yeah, the reverse psychology alllllmost worked there, but Louis is smarter than that.

Meanwhile, Eileen is cooking dinner upstairs. She’s casually telling Steve, Ren and Donnie the story of Hanukkah for the first time in years while they help her prepare. Since they’re distracted by the tale, Louis manages to smuggle all of the presents out of the basement and sneaks right past his family. I love that they actually wrote the Stevens Family as half Jewish on Eileen's side specifically, though. I mentioned this recently! It totally mirrors Shia’s real life and I think that’s pretty cool.

Notice Louis hiding behind that pile presents he’s carrying on the far right lol

Having them celebrate the Jewish holiday for the “Christmas” episode is pretty nice too. I think this might’ve been my first exposure to the Jewish faith now that I think about it. Eileen’s little story of Hanukkah works subtly here. It's educational in a non-preachy way, which is an absolute feat in comparison to other Disney shows that hit you over the head with the intended lesson of the day (I’m looking at you, Girl Meets World...)

Louis rushes upstairs to his room where he hides under the covers and RIPS OPEN EVERY SINGLE PRESENT. Okay. I understand and remember the anticipation of the holidays and wanting to know what gifts you’re getting... but to actually OPEN every single one?!?! Like, really Louis? Whatever happened to simply shaking a gift and trying to guess what it is? Honestly. Was he planning on rewrapping all of them?! How?

Just as Louis finishes opening all the gifts, Steve calls for him and comes walking upstairs wondering what he’s doing up there! Louis panics and tries to stash the gifts somewhere all bundled up in a sheet. His room is a pigsty and his closet is beyond full -- so the only place he can think to put them is OUT THE WINDOW!!! Yeah. The bundle of gifts goes tumbling down the roof and splatters all over the driveway. The entire family march up to his room piiiiised off as they stare out the window at the trashed gifts.

"Hey! It's not my fault we live in a two-story house! I have always said that I like ranch style!" -- Louis Stevens. One of my favorite quotes ever.

They throw in a line from Steve here “Is this gonna happen again next week when my cousins are here to celebrate Christmas with us?!” simply letting us know that Steve’s side of the family is likely Christian/Catholic... which also mirrors Shia’s real life. Seriously, am I the only one who thinks this is kinda awesome? Not only because they seemingly wrote that around him -- but as someone who’s biracial, I just love to see any sort of blended family represented in TV/Film.

Eileen grounds Louis for Hanukkah and The Remorse™ seeps in. Louis flops on his bed all depressed with the words of his disappointed family reverberating in his head. They make a point to emotionally pan over to this family photo on his bedside:

THIS IS SO CUTE! We see near-identical photos to this throughout the series, but this one is so happy and genuine looking. Does Ren have Louis in a loveable headlock?! Precious.

This fades into a MIRROR TALK!!! Yesssss. I think this is the last we ever see of these lovely talks before they mysteriously stopped. :( But, hey! It’s a powerful one to end on! Louis thinks out loud as usual and says that he doesn't belong in the Stevens family -- that they'd be better if he was never born.

Enter: his Bubbe Rose! (”My Boobie WHAT?!”) The ghost of his great great great great grandmother, played by Donna Pescow in some serious age makeup!! She comes flying through his bedroom window right on cue ready to take him on a ~magical journey.~ There’s a wonderful, perfectly timed Louis Scream here. There’s also a bit where Louis doesn’t believe that she’s a ghost, so she makes herself disappear and Shia presumably ad-libs looking for her between his box spring and mattress. This always cracked me up.

That scream. You can hear this gif.

Bubbe Rose is apparently Louis’ grandmother from only 4 generations ago but says that she has 7,000 grandchildren. How does that make any sense at all? lol. SOMEONE must’ve got busy in that family. Anyway... They embark on their journey by flying around the moon a few times and over the city, leaving a trail of rainbow light behind them. No biggie. They pretty much look exactly like the “The More You Know” shooting star:

“AHGHHH! WE’RE FLYIN!!”

They land (very roughly) right outside of Louis’ house. Except, it’s not really Louis’ house anymore. Bubbe Rose explains that they’re in a dimension where he was never born. Once again, Louis doesn’t believe her even though she just took him flying around the moon. He slaps himself in the face to prove that he is in fact born, but Bubbe Rose insists that his family will not be able to see or hear him. Louis thinks it’s a load of malarkey. He sarcastically shouts “Whatever you say! Give my regards to Casper, okay?" as he marches into the house like he owns the place. I absolutely love that Casper line. Oh my god.

As soon as Louis walks into the dining room, Steve seemingly turns around to greet him with his arms outstretched “SON!” but... well...

Honestly, that’s some great CGI for a 2001 Disney Channel show. Wow!

Turns out they’re actually greeting their alternate son named Curtis (Played by Chris Marquette, who you’ve definitely seen in a zillion other things) and he's the polar opposite of Louis. He’s a perfect student and top-tier athlete... But, there’s one little catch -- he’s a complete and total demon child. And no, not the “Louis Stevens” brand of demon child but literally “The Omen” brand of demon child. He is a nightmare. Curtis tells the family that he was voted “Best All Around Student of All Time” by the school board which is definitely not a real award. Louis feels like a loser and a letdown to his family in comparison.

Remember that happy family photo they made sure to show us earlier? Well, now we get this alternate dimension Stevens family portrait in contrast:

Yeah. Not as happy.

Louis is sitting on the stairs gazing at the portrait when Bubbe Rose randomly appears on his lap. (“AGHHHHH! Can you stop with these landings?!” haha!) At first, Louis thinks his family would be 100x better without him. Like, he actually looks at that portrait and believes that they look so much happier, which is obviously supposed to be a joke lol. He hates what the magical journey has taught him and makes sure Bubbe Rose knows:

We go on to learn that Louis' absence has somehow thrown off every member of the family and their personalities. Ren's an edgy, messy, wild punk chick with a boyfriend named Spider. Donnie's a "wuss" (Louis' words) whose only accomplishment and prized possession is a tiny trophy he won for a 1st-grade spelling bee (His winning word was "Ride: R-I-D-Silent E,” which he frantically repeats to himself for comfort whenever he feels dumb.) Louis is just sitting in Ren’s room observing this warped iteration of the Stevens family when Curtis walks in and berates Ren and Donnie for talking so loudly while he’s studying. Suddenly, Bubbe Rose discreetly appears and softly kisses Louis on the head, magically making him visible to everyone now. Curtis tells Ren and Donnie to get rid of him and Louis is so confused. Oh, man. It gets hilarious now.

Ren and Donnie are all like ‘who the hell are you?’ Louis insists “No, you can’t see me I’m invisible” lol. When that doesn’t work, he scrambles to come up with an identity. ("I’m Louis Steve-o-saurus... And I’m a foreign exchange student from Pennsylvania.”) I love how that’s a good enough explanation for Alternate Ren and Donnie. They just accept the fact that this random kid they don’t know appeared out of thin air in their house. Louis says “your brother’s a creep” and that’s all it takes to set off a heart-to-heart convo.

Punk Ren is actually kinda great.

They sit down and tell him "You have no idea what it's like to be related to someone who's perfect at everything they do" -- Obviously, this is not true and Louis knows all too well. He relates and explains that you have to "focus on your own good qualities" to deal with it. You can tell that he’s teaching himself the lesson as much as he’s teaching it to them.

It cuts to Alternate Ren and Donnie heading downstairs to ask Eileen and Steve if they can have a friend come over for Hanukkah dinner. Louis quietly follows them down to the kitchen and interjects “Uh.. Hi, there!” from the doorway. Steve turns around and shouts “WHO.. WHO’S THAT?!?!” so loudly. Tom Virtue is always so extra, I love it. This brings us to one of my favorite scenes in the entire series. Good lord, I love this so much:

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"I mean, I have a family. It's just, we don't... celebrate........ dinner.”

Things go from 0 to 100 after Louis offers to put their chicken in the oven and accidentally drops it. The entire family starts dying laughing because they never have any sort of fun thanks to overbearing, controlling psycho Curtis. It’s hysterical to me. When he first drops it, the silence that follows cracks me up. Then I laugh even harder when he purposely drops it a second time. It’s so good. I feel like Shia is just going to town with the whole dancing chicken thing. (“IT’S FREESTYLIN’!!!!!”) He goes on to put the chicken on his head and it’s great because the thing is obviously hollow and rubber lol. Can you imagine if a stranger actually did this, though?! That’s what makes it so freaking funny. If a random kid came into my house, dropped my chicken, put his hands all over it and proceeded to put it on his head and dance around after knowing me for a grand total of 30 seconds... I’d call the police so quick.

Curtis sees them having a good time and can’t stand it. He decides to frame Louis for stealing the family’s Hanukkah money. Ugh. Curtis interrupts the chicken train dance Louis is leading (see cover photo) and announces “someone has pilfered the Hanukkah money!” Donnie rejoices (much like in The Even Stevens Movie after they’re told they’ve been shunned lol) and Curtis clarifies “That means it’s STOLEN, PEBBLE-BRAIN!” Which is so mean, but so funny to me.

The family goes over to the coat rack/table in the hallway where Steve left the envelope of money. Curtis helps him look and immediately “finds it” in Louis’ coat pocket. Wowww. He says “He’s a bad man, Mom,” like a little innocent baby before turning into a possessed devil child behind everyone’s backs. This kid is seriously so evil.

This dramatic shot is accompanied by sinister music. Actually, dark/disturbing music plays whenever Curtis is on screen. It’s pretty funny.

The family starts interrogating Louis and he explains “I didn’t wanna steal any presents! I just wanted to be with you guys, my family.” And Steve goes OFFFFFF! “WHAT?! You come here and dance with our chicken and suddenly you're family?!" HAHAHAHAHA. Curtis has the phone ready to call the police -- took ‘em long enough! The family surrounds Louis and holds him down. Louis asks for Bubbe Rose to rescue him, but when that doesn’t work he clicks his heels together and chants “There’s no place like home.” Once again, an incredibly solid pop culture reference! It’s not a very original reference to make, but still! This show made a lot of timeless writing decisions and I can’t get over it. Sort of like Ren at the end of “Influenza,” Louis screams at the top of his lungs and wakes up back in the right universe, lol.

The back-to-normal Stevens family decide that Hanukkah isn’t nearly as fun without Louis and un-ground him. They all head downstairs to light the menorah and sing a traditional song. Yay! It’s heartwarming.

Also like “Influenza,” it turns out that it was all a dream! OR WAS IT....?! Bubbe Rose makes an ACTUAL public appearance that night bearing magically repaired gifts! Whooaaaaaa! She pretends to be some random lady who was jogging by their house and noticed perfectly fine gifts in the trash. The family is shocked that everything is back in mint condition! And just like that, Bubbe Rose disappears and leaves them wondering how in the heck.....?! Bubbe reappears outside the kitchen window and shares a hush-hush lil moment with Louis. Awww.

And that’s it!

This is such a cute episode. The “It’s A Wonderful Life” trope has been used to death in TV and film, but I really like how it was done here. You can always count on Even Stevens to bring its own unique flavor to anything. It works perfectly here because it organically continues the Louis narrative of him feeling like an outsider in his family. I love to see consistency like that. It also shows just how unique and important Louis really is to his family and their happiness. Although this is a “holiday special” episode, it still manages to feel like regular one to an extent and I love that. It’s a super engaging story full of heart and laughs. That chicken scene tho... Oh man.

Also! In the end credits, they wrote “Bubbie Rose” with an ie, but I looked it up and the traditional way to spell it is “Bubbe” apparently. So, that’s what I went with!

This episode’s Redbubble design is of Louis yelling the infamous boobie quote comic book style lol. This actually inadvertently makes a fantastic thank you note/greeting card and is available here. HAHA! I tried to stay true to the show’s color scheme of green/blue/purple as well.

Thanks for reading!!

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