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#I was put in charge of making the ACS poster and literally all I had to do was upload pictures onto a powerpoint slide and make it pretty
kitkatopinions · 3 years
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[1] I don't what point they're trying to get too, but CRWBY is going too fast. I mean I know the overall point they want to get for the series; stop Salem (and hopefully no further than thag). But the pacing is so off and that really shows in V7 & 8 particularly with Ironwood. They wanted Ironwood to be an evil dictator that would willingly bomb a city, but the thing is they did it in such a quick flip that is jarring.
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When you're right, you're right. RWBY has always had a pretty bad pacing problem, whether it's 'fixing' Weiss's problems with Ruby in one episode in V1 or rushing Yang's V4 recovery arc, the show has always struggled to figure out how to prioritize and take its time. But, this problem has gotten a little more obvious in the last two seasons.
Hazel's redemption and Emerald's redemption were absolutely horribly done, partly because they rushed through them at the speed of light, while they contrast the 'fall' of James Ironwood into a villain role that went from zero to a hundred within the span of two to three in-universe days without the show taking the time to put much proper focus on it or give it the emotional depth it deserved. The Hound was in and out too quick, despite being one of the better concepts to come out of the eighth season. And that's the same with the Cinder/Neo/Watts team up of the century that a lot of people were really interested in and were calling it actual character development and a good change, and then had to put on clown paint when it ended an episode later with everything returning to the status quo. I'd say Ozpin's 'make up' with the team was rushed, too, but honestly that's the least of my concerns with him returning to the team. Qrow and Clover was so rushed that I was seriously weirded out and confused when Qrow's reaction to Clover's death was so big, because to me they seemed like they barely knew each other. I've never understood why both the show and a lot of the FNDM decided that Clover was so important to Qrow, and Qrow jumping to 'kill Ironwood' was also really weird, since we'd been given plenty of reason to believe that Ironwood was Qrow's trusted friend, and very little reason to believe that Qrow hated him, until the guy he'd known for like two months and one season died and suddenly Qrow didn't care about Ironwood at all.
On top of this, Blake and Yang's relationship was rushed in V6 and then stagnated, and the writer's attempt to make them 'fight' in volume eight was so stupid and ridiculous that it was comical (and very frustrating.) Them making everyone drop concerns they have with Ruby within a short while is - like you said - another example of everything going too fast. Weiss 'reconciling' with Whitley and Willow was done too fast and with very little depth, leaving it feeling lackluster and leaving Willow's affection for either of her children feeling fake as hell. Robyn Hill's entire character is a product of rushed and badly done 'growth,' and despite her and Qrow spending episodes together in prison with nothing to do, they still charged ahead with "now these two are friends" too fast and it fell totally flat. I liked May Marigold, but the HH were in the same boat as Robyn, not given enough development and feeling forced into important roles they didn't earn, and the same can be said for the Ace Ops. Salem herself, the main villain, came and went in less than a volume and the terrible way they thrust her into the story only to hastily try to find a way to make her not a threat made her seem so unscary that I can't take her seriously at all anymore.
I was literally shocked when I realized that they weren't spending another season in Atlas, and I even theorized that maybe RWBY was getting cancelled soon, and that's why they were rushing everything so fast in V8. But tbh, with the lack of faith I have in these writers, it's very possible that they just failed, that they just suck.
They didn't take the time to develop almost anything in Volumes seven and eight, and what development they did give us in volume seven seemed to fly out the window in volume eight anyway, or didn't matter anymore.
RWBY is a show that has always struggled to develop story beats and character arcs and dynamics and I and a lot of fans have 'filled in the blanks' on a lot of what they left empty or hastily glossed over, but that gets harder and harder to do the more they get sloppy and overconfident. The fanbase shouldn't have to do this. The fanbase shouldn't have to look at characters who are meant to matter to each other and sighingly try to headcanon up most of their relationship and/or dynamic. They shouldn't have to look at a Very Important arc that the writers are so proud of and then go "okay, time to figure out how to force this to make sense."
There's a certain amount of that in every piece of media, fleshing out characters and their pasts or their relationship is a fandom past-time no matter what fandom you're talking about (heck, I've seen it in the LOTR fandom,) but after a certain point, it starts to feel like we're putting way more work into it than the actual show writers, and that's weird and it's also tiring.
I've seen this argument from RWBY simps that RWDE posters are mad we "have to think about things" and that things aren't just handed to us on a silver platter, but I don't think that's true. We're willing to play a little catch up and flesh out dynamics here and there. I've been doing that in fandoms for forever. There's a difference between doing that, and needing to do a lot of work and a lot of re-writing and world building to make most of the show actually make sense or feel emotionally significant.
RWBY wasn't always like this. I was more than happy to fill in the blanks for seasons of it and get by on vibes and concepts to match what meat and substance we did get. But now I feel like almost everything is so rushed, underdeveloped, forced, or badly handled that trying to 'fill in the gaps' has turned into essentially writing a fix-it fic in your head. So I'd rather just put my mental energy into actually writing a fix-it fic instead of trying to force myself to put in the work that the writers don't for the show proper itself.
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askaceattorney · 3 years
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Dear Asexual-Deesasters,
Mod Edgeworth: 
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If you want to know the answer to that question, go to this link.
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Dear Skibot99,
Co-Mod: I’m fairly certain it was The Mod, but I don’t know for sure.  He actually had another one before it, made from an old Ace Attorney musical animation.  I haven’t been able to locate that video, unfortunately, but here’s the old banner:
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Ah...  Those were good days.  Good days.
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Dear Dawsongfg,
Co-Mod: It’s fine.  Besides, it won’t be too long before those letters are accepted, so maybe we’ll hold onto them until that time.
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Dear skibot99 again,
Mod Edgeworth: The Lost Turnabout hands down. All logic is thrown out the window the moment Phoenix had amnesia. It’s clear the Judge knew something was wrong with Phoenix, so why didn’t he call for a recess or check on Phoenix? Not to mention Wellington was annoying. He’s probably the only character I would be hesitant to play as when answering letters, if only because he was so unbearable.
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As for Turnabout Ablaze, I do agree that it is a drag to get through in the end, though the entire game of AAI was boring, aside from the game mechanics. As a case by itself, I wouldn’t put it as my least favorite, if only because I did get some funny parts out of it.  It also contributed to the overall story, whereas The Lost Turnabout could just be taken out and it wouldn’t effect the overarching plot.
Co-Mod: I’d probably have to go with Turnabout Big Top.  I honestly couldn’t figure out the part where you have to present Max’s poster without consulting a walkthrough.  Why couldn’t we just present Max himself?  Besides that, the ending was largely underwhelming -- the murder weapon was hidden under Acro’s blanket the entire time, but instead of seeing a screenshot of it there, we just have to imagine it.  Maybe it was a filler case, but that was no excuse for it to end so poorly.  Not to mention one of the witnesses was a literal puppet.
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It’s hard truth, Trilo.  Live with it.
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Dear skibot99 and Anonymous,
Mod Edgeworth: I… think I heard from her when the localization of DGS was announced? I know Mod Kristoph and Mod Maya introduced themselves when I came into the group. There’s a third person, but I only heard from her once. As for what’s going on with her… I don’t know.
As for the flooding the inbox, it’s fine. I won’t promise a letter or two won’t be deleted, but we may make an exception and I’d hardly consider 4-5 different letters flooding the inbox. However, I do highly suggest lowering your letter sending to no more than three a day to prevent deletion of your letters. The only time I’d say your letters are flooding the inbox is when you’re sending 10-20 of them, especially of the same letter, and we have to scroll down for a while to get to the next letter. We will only choose three out of that pile and delete the rest.
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And yes, we do have a few that send us 10-20 of the same letter to multiple characters in the span of five minutes. Geez.
Co-Mod: Mod Paups has had to remain absent for personal reasons, and sadly, has recently communicated to me that she wishes to leave the blog entirely.  Thanks for all you’ve contributed to this blog, Mod Paups, and best of luck in whatever you do next!
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(Referenced Letter)
Dear mungeondaster,
Mod Edgeworth: Since I answered this one, I shall answer your letter.
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(^ Why do I always use this sprite? ^) Actually, the localization never specified if Manfred Von Karma was born in Germany or not. In fact, we never knew the German part until Justice For All when Franziska Von Karma was stated to have flown all the way from Germany. It never specifies any reason for this and fans were quick to jump to the conclusion that it means the Von Karma family were German, which… isn’t entirely true? Manfred Von Karma never said he lived in Germany and, for all we know, Franziska could’ve lived in Germany to study law or something.
Now, the OG does give us more specific detail on this, being why I answered this the way I did. In the OG, both Von Karma’s were born Japanese, but lived in America or at least have an estate there. It specified that they were originally born in Japan, which would be translated to LA, California in the localization. While using the OG canon isn’t normal here, I will use it, if the localization doesn’t specify things. In this case, it never specified if the Von Karma’s were born in Germany or if Manfred Von Karma lived in America. Since he had to wait out the Statue of Limitations for DL-6, we can assume he lived in LA for 15 years or more. That means he’s American.
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I am still getting the hang of writing letters, but I try to stick to canon as much as possible. If you believe we’ve made an error in our letters, feel free to let us know, but also show proof, if we go against canon. We’ll be sure the letter is sent to the right mod or else fix it.
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Dear  Bluedragoncody,
Mod Edgeworth: I... don’t know how to feel about that.
Also, I accidentally deleted your previous letter before this one when trying to post it on here. I’m so sorry about that. If you could remember it, would you send it again?
Co-Mod: I’ll just respond to this with an old classic:
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Dear Aceattorneyismyjam,
Mod Edgeworth: I-I’m not a pro! I accidentally deleted an important mod question from bluedragoncody, because of my inexperience. Oof! Again, so sorry!
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Granted, I am good with digital art and writing essays, but I’m still trying to get the hang of being a mod here. Believe me, I do get corrected on several mistakes I do here. I can’t really call myself a pro just yet. I’ve only just started becoming a mod here last month lol
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Dear Dahlia,
Mod Edgeworth: I thank you for your support of this blog and my essay. Manfred Von Karma is also my favorite villain and someone I do feel is underestimated as a one dimensional villain. I think people hate him so much, because of how he ruined Miles Edgeworth’s life without looking at the bigger picture. They focus on the bad things with their black colored glasses without dissecting Manfred Von Karma’s character as a whole. 
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One thing I love about this blog, even before becoming a mod, is that no one here ever portrayed Manfred Von Karma as the one dimensional villain. He can be snappy at times, but as proven in many of our previous letters, he’s also portrayed as being calm when threatened, polite at times and absolutely loves his wife and children. Yes, he’s a terrible person, but that’s what makes him so interesting. He’s a bad, evil person that does good things from time to time. It doesn’t justify any of his horrible deeds, murder included, but it does make him human.
Co-Mod: I’m...going to assume you’re a different Dahlia.  (I’m grabbing a Magatama of Parting just in case, though.  I’m sure you can understand.)
Anyway, thanks for being such a loyal follower!  This blog’s been through a lot of changes since it began, and since I joined it back in 2017, so I’m glad it’s still a good source of enjoyment for you.  I’ve seen all sorts of cringe by now, by the way (some of which I wrote myself), so don’t worry about it.
I’m also glad that the characters still sound like themselves and not like us.  The hilarious personalities and quirks given to them by Capcom’s writers, as well as the humanity in so many of them, make them easy to relate to, and thus fairly easy to mimic.  I may have said something like this before, but I see myself in a lot of them -- in Athena’s fear of inadequacy, in Apollo’s desire for justice in a world where it’s hard to find, in Sebastian’s confusion about where to go next after his world falls apart, and possibly even in the von Karmas’ desire for perfection.  I of course identify with their positive feelings as well -- Phoenix’s smugness when he gets things right, Athena’s joy after pulling off a victory in court, Adrian’s pride after her self-confidence is restored, etc. -- but there’s something about the struggles they face that make them easier to relate to, on top of being that much more awesome in the end.
Unfortunately, I can’t promise anything about this blog continuing on in perpetuity.  For one thing, I don’t plan on being around forever (I’m fairly certain the other Mods don’t, either), and for that matter, there’s also no telling how long Tumblr will be around.  All I can promise is that I’ll give my best while I’m here, and that the love from you and everyone else who shares it here is sure to be what keeps us going.  Thank you for your contribution!
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Dear TurqouiseJavelin,
Mod Edgeworth: Hm... not bad ideas. Though, we mods choose our own mod names under the condition that it doesn’t match anyone else’s mod name.
Co-Mod: What Mod Edgeworth said.  Choosing the name “Mod Athena” may or may not increase your chances of being hired, though.  *wink, wink*
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Dear Anonymous, 
Mod Edgeworth: Actually, Gregory was stated in the Autopsy to have died by a gunshot. However, you do bring up something interesting. If Gregory Edgeworth realized he was dead and last remembered Robert Hammond strangling him, he wouldn’t think “I died by the shot of a gun.” Since the Detectives weren’t aware that victim had died unconscious, they’d assume the victim would recall being shot and killed. This makes me wonder if Gregory Edgeworth was channeled, but never brought to court to be cross-examined.
There are still holes, but I do like your aspect on DL-6.
Co-Mod: Dang...  No matter how many times you come back to this game, there’s always something new to think about.  I honestly hadn’t considered those details about Yanni Yogi’s trial.  Your explanation makes the most sense to me, but there’s one other possibility regarding Gregory’s testimony -- he may have chosen to lie about who murdered him in order to protect his son from a murder charge.  That’s all open to interpretation, of course, so your guess is as good as ours.
It’s a good thing we’re not actual defense attorneys, huh?
-The Mods
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tobiosmilktea · 4 years
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Hello! I really love your writing and I just saw your requests are open yay 👏🏻 So my idea is that the reader (female or neutral, as you prefer it) is a third year who takes art lessons as an extracurricular subject or something and the teacher ask their students to draw posters of the sport teams, and the reader got the volleyball team. The thing is the reader knows the third years but they're not really close, so they talk just a bit. (Part 1)
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paint the clouds — tendou satori
4.7k words | genre/s: fluff | warning/s: possible ooc on everyone tbh | pairing: tendou x f!reader
↪︎ in which you painted a muse who always wanted you too
a/n: definitely not my best work and im super sorry for that, but i hope you still enjoy it 👉🏻👈🏻
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a warm spring breeze blew strands of your hair in front of your face, laying against your rosy cheeks as you watched the horizon. the bright yellow sun teased the sky with hues of pink and orange, bound to mix into the darkness of the sunset. school had ended a few hours ago and now you were sitting in your art club waiting for your teacher to dismiss you. she was in a middle of a spiel explaining your next art project, but your brain struggled to follow.
your hand ached from drawing for hours, your wrist tender from constant pressure, and now you could’ve sworn you were going to get carpal tunnel sooner or later. it was worth it, anyway, you were doing what you liked doing as you honestly felt being an artist was your only talent. it was merely the only thing you focused on besides your academics. dating was certainly out of the question.
instead, you watched the birds fly past the open classroom window as your teacher explained the assignment something along the lines doing sports teams posters.
“i will be walking around the classroom with a box filled with names of sports clubs,” the teacher starts, pulling you out of your train of thought as your attention was finally set on her. “you will pick a random piece of paper from the box and that will be the sports team you will be making a club poster for.”
whispers erupted in the room as others verbalized which team they wished to get.
“i hope i get the volleyball team, they’re literally iconic.” you heard one girl say.
another voice exclaimed, “drawing the equestrian team sounds super fun too!”
the murmurs continued to the buzz even after the majority of the class had already picked out their sports team from the box. you were the last one to choose as you opted to sit in the back of the class.
“and last but not least,” said your teacher as she serpentine through the desks towards your sitting figure.
your hand dug into the small cardboard box only to feel one last piece of paper. you wanted to scoff slightly, but you stopped yourself the moment you grabbed the last slip of paper and read the messy handwriting. it took you a good second to even understand what it said as it was complete chicken scratch (no offense to the teacher).
“(y/n), what did you get?” your friend who sat in front of you turned with a smile on her face.
"i got the volleyball club,” you answered, eyes widening when your friend gasped.
“that’s literally the best one to get! i’m so jealous,” she sighed as if she just inhaled a rose scented breeze.
perhaps you were lucky to get such a sought after sports team as your main focus for the assignment, but you couldn’t help but feel an overbearing weight suddenly falling upon your shoulders. shiratorizawa’s volleyball team was the epitome of the academy. they were the ones who brought a significant name to the school with only the smartest of intellects but one with the best athletes. depending on how well you created this poster could potentially make or break your reputation. it was a visual representation of the team, anything less than iconic would dig a deeper hole for you.
it certainly doesn’t help the fact that you actually had to talk to the volleyball team now that you were in charge of their school poster. you internally groaned. you barely interacted with the third years, let alone being completely enamored over a familiar red-head.
your after school activities had ended in the midst of your running train of thoughts as you absentmindedly gathered your things and walked out of the classroom. you gripped the handle of your bag as you strolled through the near-empty hallways of the academy, your mind in a complete spiral as you had already tried visualizing what the end product might look like.
it was common knowledge to everyone who had known about you was well aware how amazing you were at art. no matter what medium you were given, you were known to be the girl who had magical hands that could create even the most beautiful things out of ash and smoke. you had this some innate, almost magical ability to have others stop in their tracks just to admire your works.
perhaps that you were too caught up in your own thoughts and the hypnotic tapping rhythm of your loafers clicking against the school floors that you hadn’t even notice your arrival towards the gym.
even the loud shouts of volleyball players from the ongoing practice wasn’t enough to pull your gaze away from the ground and towards the flying volleyball hurdling towards you.
“(y/l/n), watch out!” you heard a familiar voice shout out, immediately pulling you out of your own jungle-like psyche and into the real world.
everything had happened so quickly, all you knew was a blur fly past you to retrieve the ball before it knocked out of conscious. semi eita quickly turned to you, his figure greatly towering over you as he gave you a reassuring smile. “are you okay, (y/l/n)?”
you gulped, nodding almost too quickly. “yeah, i’m okay.”
“good,” he mutters as his brows slightly furrow in confusion. there was a thin blanket of awkwardness hovering above both of your heads as you both stood there in silence for a good five seconds—five seconds too long that is. “so what brings you here?” he finally breaks it, scratching the back of his head in the mean time.
right, you had almost forgotten why you were here in the first place.
“it’s about the art club, we’re doing sports team posters and i was wondering if i could talk to the third years for ideas.” you asked gently.
semi’s eyes immediately widened, the already prevalent smile on his face only increased at the statement. “that’s cool! come with me, i’ll show you to them.” he quickly motioned you to come inside the gym, feeling the brisk air difference of the air conditioned gymnasium to the warm spring breeze outside.
a shiver flowed down your back. not from the sudden influx of cold air surrounding your body, but the fact that towering volleyball players and their ever-so-intimidating nature causing nervous habits to take over you. soekawa jin, the vice captain of the team quickly flickered a look towards you before tapping ushijima’s arm for his attention. turning to see what his teammate wanted, soekawa swiftly pointed at you and semi approaching.
“it’s a surprise seeing you here, (y/l/n).” ushijima greets you in his deep, guttural voice. it caused you to gulp nervously, struggling to even put on the tiniest of smiles as you meekly muttered a ‘hi’ to the rest of the third years. however, it seemed as if the one you were most familiar with was not in sight. it did seem a tad bit quiet in the gym now that the practice game was on a time out.
“um,” one of the wing spikers approached you, ohira reon was it? “sorry for almost hitting you, by the way.”
you swiftly shook your head, “no, it’s okay. i was the one who wasn’t playing attention, so that’s on me.” 
“so, you’re here for the poster?” ushijima cut into it like a sharp knife, bold and straight to the point.
“yeah, um, i just stopped by to ask if you guys had anything ideal you want to see on your club poster.” your voice was softer than you hoped it would be when you spoke. 
eyebrows furrowing, ushijima glances among his teammates as provocation for an option saturated his hums of curiosity. 
semi then clears his throat, “we’re not really sure if we have any input for you, (y/n). besides, i think your poster will be amazing nevertheless.”
“that’s still a lot of pressure,” you mutter, “considering i would be mauled to death if this poster isn’t amazing.” sarcasm drenched your words like saccharine, hoping that the tall athletes would at least get your banter and share a laugh with you.
but they didn’t. instead, they stared with wide eyes at you in a mere worrying glance. perhaps the joke didn’t exactly translate well.
god, this is so awkward.
however, it wasn’t like you were exactly lying. as the face of shiratorizawa academy, you were aware that they needed to look good and if it were any less than that, you might never see the light of day ever again. not to mention you always liked adding twists to your artwork, which was technically the only reason why you were so infamously known to have such amazing works. but in the past half hour, you’ve came to the conclusion that it possibly isn’t the best option in this case.
“i’m kidding, by the way,” you let out a light huff.
“well, if it helps you in any way, you could always focus on ushijima as he is our ace.” soekawa cuts in, patting the captain’s back the moment he braided his arms over each other.
any form of leftover conversation (or lack thereof) was sliced—cut off from the sudden opening of the gymnasium doors and the (quite obnoxiously) loud middle blocker. tendou satori entered the giant gym with a bright beaming face of glimmering lights and cherries. tendou was perhaps one of the first people to talk to you the moment you entered this academy, eyes glazed in a honey-like optimism with every bright ‘hello.’ you always tended to be the quiet and secluded one in your classes with him despite being known to be infamously sardonic, you seemed to be the only one to which his overly comic ways of banter didn’t annoy you like it did with others. he, himself, was a sunray, and yet you couldn’t bring yourself to expose that thought as your eyes fall onto the approaching boy.
out of all the third year volleyball players, you and tendou had talked the most, yet considering you two as more than just mere acquaintances was a bit of a reach.
“yo!” the redhead’s loud voice thundered throughout the gym and you could already feel it echo within your heart.
“you’re back,” mused ohira with his hands on his hips. “are you okay?”
“yeah,” tendou says, fixing the loosened athlete’s tape over his fingers. “but the school nurse was already gone by the time i got there, so i had to fix myself up—oh hey, (y/n)!” he had cut himself off the moment his eyes fell upon yours.
your breath had hitched the moment he greeted you. it was as if your heart had immediately jumped into your throat and prevented you from even muttering a word as you can already feel your palms getting clammy. “hey,” you mutter almost in a whisper.
“so what are you doing here?” questioned tendou as his eyes suddenly widen the moment the words came out of his mouth, “uh-that sounded really rude, um—i actually meant that in the nicest way possible, by the way.”
you couldn’t help but chuckle at his sudden burst of scattered thoughts, noticing a faint flush of pink upon his cheeks. 
“she’s here for the club poster,” ushijima answers in your place as you seemed to not answer even after a beat had passed.
“oh nice! i’m sure it’ll look really cool!” the middle blocker grinned at you to which a sudden wave of monarch butterflies attacked your gut. you could even feel the heat coursing through your cheeks and all the way to the tips of your ears until they were as red as tendou’s hair.
“hopefully,” you modestly commented, eyes then falling upon tendou’s wrapped wrist and couldn’t help but be filled with curiosity. “what happened to  you?”
the middle blocker shook his head dismissively. “i tried blocking one of ushijima’s spikes again, but as you know, it is a bit impossible and i ended up hurting myself. it’s no biggie, though.” he shrugs.
“t-that’s amazing.” you breathed out before you could catch yourself. and you swore, you saw the light pink hues of blush upon tendou’s face had darkened.
how cool, you thought with the stars in your eyes. the thought was a bit controversial, but you couldn’t but find tendou satori cooler than ushijima at that very moment. the fact that he knew very well how difficult and painful it was to block his spikes, tendou still attempted it to the point at the cusp of being injured. you began fiddling with your fingers for far too long as you’ve come to realize how long you were standing there for no more reason. you mentally face palmed as you cleared your throat, “anyway, if you guys do have any preferred ideas let me know before friday.”
before the boys could even say a proper goodbye, your legs were already carrying you towards the exits of the gymnasium as if it was running on autopilot. she did hear their shouts of good lucks from across the room as your long strides pushed you to quickly leave.
why was i so awkward for?
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in retrospect, perhaps you were more nervous than you thought. it had been an entire week since you had received the assignment to create a club poster for the volleyball team and there hadn’t been a night filled with peaceful sleep. instead, they were brimming with 2am moments of inspired antics. working on the large poster filled you with nothing but utter confidence even after it was finished, but now that you were actually at school with the rolled up poster of the incredible volleyball team, you couldn’t help but feel waves of reluctance and insecurity.
it was always like this with you. where everything was fine and your confidence within your works were expected, but the moment you did have to present such things, you couldn’t help but think of what you should’ve done differently. you assumed that you could’ve improved your mixed media skills by a little bit as there wasn’t much you could’ve done either way in that murky little head of yours that obviously lacked sleep.
the hallways of shiratorizawa were still pretty empty as it was still quite early in the morning. most of the students were outside anyway, so you quickly took this chance to unroll the large poster. taking some push-pins from the side pocket of your school bag, you hung the poster up in it’s place. 
you breathed out one last sigh of ichor before picking up your bag and walking away from the masterpiece.
throughout the entire day, you had come across dozens of stares of others as you walked through the hallways, bringing your endless sea of nerves to heighten until you were dragged upon its tides. there were whispers everywhere. they were probably talking about your poster for the volleyball club and immediately you felt drowned in sorrow.
within a snap, had already thought of the worse possible outcomes that others were talking about how terrible of a job you did. perhaps that leap of faith, that tiny step out of the box when creating your poster was too much of a risk that you ended up falling to your own demise.
“(y/n)!” a voice called from behind you.
turning over your shoulder, you saw a familiar redhead making his way towards you in a bright amble. you immediately felt your heart drop as you whip your head back around and started to walk away. 
shit, shit shit. you thought, tendou was definitely not the first person you wanted to talk to you when the possibilities of what he had to say to you was tangling in your psyche. as if they were tangled vines yearning to be untangled for his closure and yet, you refused.
your shoes clicked rapidly against the floors of the school when suddenly your wrist was pulled back, turning towards his familiar tall figure.
your direct gaze was on his chest, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look up upon his eyes. you couldn’t, at least. as if you were, your face would resemble something similar to a tomato.
“listen, tendou.” you muttered, still not attempting to meet his gaze. “i’m kind of late for class, but if you want talk later then we can—”
“no, i want to talk now,” he stated seriously, almost too seriously as it caused you to look up to him in surprise.
your mouth gaped to say something, yet nothing seemed to come out.
“i just wanted to say thanks for the poster.” tendou says as his breath almost hitched from the mere sight of you. he could recall the rushing feeling of blood coursing towards his cheeks and ears the moment he stepped upon school grounds and saw your poster. there his painted figure was, stood more prominently than the rest of his team. it was as if he needed the taste of sweet-tongued cough syrup just to ease his aching cheeks from smiling so hard.
the feeling was amazing. that from the smallest little action of you focusing on him rather than what he thought was going to be ushijima (like always) it was you who chose him. the loud middle blocker over the incredible ace of shiratorizawa. he knew validation wasn’t everything, and yet, his immense feeling of being at the top of the world certainly didn't help the fact that he had always been in love with you. you and tendou had the same class each and every year, that each first day of school, he would always sit giddily at his desk just so he could watch your angelic figure walk in.
in spite of it all, from his loud and upfront nature, he could never bring himself to even talk to you everyday besides an occasional ‘good morning’ whenever you would walk in. perhaps seeing this poster of himself was a little push into the deep end—to finally grow the guts to spill his unspoken epiphanies of built up feelings for once.
“usually, it’s ushijima who’s the face of the shiratorizawa team, but it’s nice seeing a change.” continued the middle blocker on the cusp of rambling, “i really didn’t expect you to focus it on me though, so that was a surprise... which by the way,” he hesitates as if he was do embarrassed to even ask. “why did you choose me?”
you pursed your lips the moment your breath was snatched from your lungs. “um,” you sighed, your mind speedily trying to come up with a plausible answer—something other than perhaps inevitably revealing you feelings for him, “i just think you’re really cool.” was all you could come up with and quite honestly, you wanted to face palm yourself for how stupid it probably sounded.
but to tendou, it was an absolute godsend. his heart thumped rapidly against his rib cage as his cheeks reddened into crimson wine. he didn’t know what else to say afterwards as that was his final push. it was then the idea popped inside his mind. a cheeky smile melted upon his lips as he patted your head gently.
“you’re an amazing artist, (y/n).” he complimented, amused by the fact he was the one who caused your reddening face before turning his heel and waving, “see you tomorrow!”
“u-uh, see you?” you stammered over his sudden departure, briefly waving before hold your hand to your chest. you felt as if your heart was to inevitably combust at the sudden overflow of ardor and vehemence of tendou satori’s actions. 
a sigh left your peachy lips, why am i feeling like this?
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tendou could’ve sworn he had enough time to make it back to practice before stirring up any suspicions from his team, but the unfortunate tides have come across and drenched him in ill-fate—all gross and sticky.
ever since seeing your poster of him the day before, the thought of you had been on the middle blocker’s mind enough that even ushijima noticed his change in demeanor.
“what’s up with him?” the captain asked semi as they watched the redhead stumble into the gym.
“i think it’s about (y/l/n),” he answers in a hushed voice in case the disorganized tendou somehow heard. “he’s been in love with her since first year and seeing the poster of him is finally forcing him to make a move.”
ushijima refrained from chuckling, “so all it took was a poster with him as the center instead of me?”
“yeah, pretty much.” says semi.
tendou had been non-stop running back and forth between his classroom, the gym, and the art room after that burst of serendipitous ideas clouded his brain until it was all he could focus on. he had already missed the beginning of practice just so he could do something special for you for when he does muster up the courage to confess.
it was something along the lines of returning the favor of what you did to him, but he was well aware of the fact that he was a volleyball player for a reason and not an artist. honestly, most of the work was done with the help of you friend from the art club to which she basically did the drawing and tendou just colored it in. however he liked to think that it was the thought that counted, either way.
“sorry i’m late,” the missing middle blocker finally appeared. he was trying to catch his breathe as he rested his arms upon his bent knees. perhaps he quite disliked how gigantic the shiratorizawa campus was when it came to this. “i had to take care of something.”
ushijima gave semi an amused look before hardening his gaze on tendou, he tried not to laugh as he cleared his throat to hide that fact. “what’s more important than volleyball practice?” perhaps in the ace’s rarity, he was in the mood to tease the guy. “a girl?”
and immediately, the look on tendou’s face—of complete and utter fear that his captain would potentially punish him with extra conditioning was going to be the death of him—was instead replaced with chuckles him ushijima and semi.
“i’ll leave you off the hook as this was your first time missing a practice, not to mention you missed it for a girl you’ve liked for three years now.” said ushijima surprisingly out of character, than even he found himself shocked by saying it. “but if you miss another practice for (y/l/n), you’ll have extra conditioning everyday before and after school.”
tendou nods rapidly, “yessir!”
the rest of the day was filled with the sound of firm volleyballs being hit and slapped across the gym before falling to the floors with a coupled thud.
and despite trying his very hardest to focus his mind upon the practice game, he couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander to you in your bright enormity. his mind was on you, and yet he was playing the game harder than ever with each and every block he endured. perhaps it was the nerves, the aching adrenaline that flowed through his veins at the mere thought of  confessing to you by the time practice ended fueled his fire.
even if this was just a practice game against his own teammates, he was going to win for you and leave the gym with a confident aura enough to give him the guts to walk up to you.
the thing is, the game had already ended before he knew it. his side of the court had won and reached 25 points before he could even blink with the fact that he was in a ready stance even after the whistle had been blown.
“tendou,” ushijima called out to the redhead. “good luck.”
with that, the middle blocker’s head had cleared as he gave a smile to the setter. he walked over his bag, snatching it up and over his shoulder as he grabbed the rolled up poster within his clammy hands.
god, i’m was nervous. he thought to himself as he walked out of that gym.
the loud, boisterous guffaws from the rest of his teammates faded and echoed into oblivion as he walked the opposite way from everyone else. as the rest were going home, it was him who was on his was to your classroom. he had heard from your friend that you had cleaning duties today after school and it was the perfect time to just swallow his pride and just say.
but his actions were definitely faster than his thoughts as he had impulsively slammed the classroom door open without thinking.
you had thrown a shocked glance at the redhead at the sudden harsh action as he had thrown an embarrassed smile at you. chuckling at that adorable look on his face, you quickly set you mop aside. “tendou? what are you doing here? is your practice over already?”
the redhead nods, “yeah, just a couple minutes ago—um, i-uh just wanted to uh—”
he sighed frustratingly. this was the first time that the tendou satori—the third year infamously known for his innate way of speaking to others in such bright confidence for once, had his tongue tied. the reason why was obvious. it was because of you and your beaming eyes and that godforsaken smile of yours that made him go utterly crazy.
he was still trying to find the right words to say when your gaze fell upon the rolled up poster within his shaking hands. “what’s this?” you asked innocently as your hand reached for the poster and took it out of his hands without much force.
“w-wait! that’s—!”
you unrolled the poster, honey glazed your irises as your mouth gaped slightly.
it was you. a painting of you sitting under one of the large trees on one of the campus’s courtyards, sketching who knows what along with tendou’s large handwriting sprayed at the top:
WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME, (Y/N)?
you breath was snatched out of your throat as you flickered your widened eyes up to him. red and pink hues adored tendou’s cheeks and ears, scratching the back of his head as his chestnut eyes refused to meet yours. if he were to look at you then and there, he would immediately melt into a puddle of blossoming cherries.
“did you make this for me?” you asked gently, still absolutely moonstruck at the poster. it was a simple painting that was definitely not drawn entirely by tendou as you could tell your friend had something to do with it, but you couldn’t help but be absolutely astonished that he even went out his way for this. “i love it,” you whispered, capturing tendou’s attention.
“y-you do?” the redhead huffs in disbelief.
tendou was closer to you, more than you were comfortable with, but you didn’t fight it off. you didn’t bother giving a little space between you two. “i was serious when i always thought you were cool. you were the only one out of that group of popular kids to talk to me and was actually nice about it.” you suddenly professed. your consciousness mentally slapped you over and over again from the embarrassment of saying such a thing. and yet, the signal in her mind didn’t releasse itself until the moment you felt your eyes fall upon tendou’s chamomile lips. and to your peachy ones, did tendou even dare to think of the impossible, of the serenity that filled them under your blushing cheeks,
“i really like you, (y/n)... and i have for a while now.” he muttered.
you bit your lip at the sudden downpour of feelings that you didn’t even notice yourself clutching and perhaps accidentally crumpling the poster he made. “me too,” you said in a mere whisper, your gaze flickering back down to the floor. “and to answer your question... yes, i will go out with you, tendou.”
the redhead felt his breath hitch in his throat, pausing with his eyes almost wide and doe-like when he looked at you underneath the last rays of the setting sun. he let’s out a bright chuckle, “cool.” he attempted to act casually only to break the moment he found your embrace.
you gently laughed as it muffled within his chest, “cool.” you repeated.
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darlingdtarot · 3 years
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8/8/2021 - New Moon In Leo Rituals & Horoscopes For All Signs
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The New Moon is here again to remind us to let go of ideas that no longer serve us. It's about wiping the slate clean and setting intention on the rest of the month. Are you excited to start a new chapter? Each sign is going to experience new heights of happiness, emotional security, and financial bliss. It might not always be easy, but it will always be worth it. This is a great time to show off your confident side and get into a deeper level of Self-Expression. You are called to feel more confident in your own skin and as the amazing individual you are. There is truly only one you on this entire planet – embrace that! Those that are going through quarantines again, or just find themselves in the house more often, wear those fancy outfits in your closet that has been catching dust! Get it out, dust off your nicest shoes, and get dolled up. You don't need an excuse to feel good about yourself, Darling. Now is a great time to take pictures for social media as well, as the sign's physical attractiveness will be heightened during this Leo New Moon. Follow your passions and hobbies too, as it's important to express your creativity.
Working on manifestations will be amazing during this time as well, so make sure to be utilizing the Law Of Attraction! This could be through Manifestation Journals, Meditations, or Vision Boards. Making a Vision Board by cutting out images and pasting them onto a piece of paper or a literal poster-board will help you manifest easier as it will focus your mind each day on visualizing your goals and desires. You got this!
Rituals that you can do during the Leo New Moon:
Along with the upcoming changing of leaves (depending on where you live), us too are going through a change during this New Moon to leave behind what no longer serves us. Yellow and Red are really important colors during this New Moon, as it symbolizes Confidence, Self-Fulfillment, Expression, Self-Comfort, and Joy. You can wear these colors throughout the month leading up to the Full Moon for added luck.
A Spiritual Bath might be something that would be wonderful to be implemented. You can add flowers, herbs, essential oil, bathing salts, and/or crystals to make the perfect spiritual cleanse. Sunflower scented candles are going to be very important as well – so if you're needing a new smell for the month, this will be a great time to utilize Sunflower Candles for manifestation! There are other scents as well that are just as important over this time.
Scents / Flowers You Can Utilize:
Lemon
Sunflower
Lemongrass
Dandelion
Crystals To Charge During The New Moon in Leo:
Yellow Aventurine
Citrine
Honey Calcite
Golden Hematoid
Amber
Carnelian
Tigers Eye
Leave these on a towel in a windowsill on the night of the New Moon to charge in the energy. The next day, place the crystals near your bath as you take it – or near your bed / in your purse for added optimism and comfort throughout the month. Remember that not all crystals can be put in the water, so make sure to look it up before you dip them in! If your crystal is water-hardy, you can place it directly into the bath as you soak.
For those that have gardens, consider planting wild flowers, sunflowers, gladiolus, etc. (Depending on where you are!)
Horoscopes for Each Sign and Element over the New Moon in Taurus:
Please make sure to check your Sun, Moon, Rising, and Venus Signs as you might resonate more with their energies. :)
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EARTH: Ace Of Wands – Earth Signs are going to feel renewed and as if the fires of their passions are finally alight again. You're going to be receiving a lot of messages and ideas during this time, so trust what you come up with as creativity is going to be through the roof. If you have craft supplies that you haven't touched in a while, Earth Signs, get ready to start crafting. The energy this Leo New Moon is bringing in for you will help you to soar and reach greater heights within your hobbies, workplace, and imagination. Others will feel compelled to pick up an instrument that has been laying around catching dust for a while. Express yourself! Some Earth Sign's might start feeling compelled to play the field and date around a little to see what's out there – go for it! Remember to wear protection though if you aren't planning on getting pregnant during this time of reignited passions!
Virgo: The Star – Virgos are going to be feeling more hopeful over this New Moon in Leo. You might have felt a bit downtrodden or as if everything were spoiled, but now it's finally coming back together. It's a relief in so many ways, because after being told for so long that you'd be okay, you're finally starting to see things 'Getting Better'. It was something that took a while, but peace of mind is here to stay for the rest of the year, Virgo. Rest assured on THAT. Clarity will also be coming to those that have asked for a sign recently in regards to a situation you're stuck on. It's as if the Universe is finally handing you the new pair of glasses that you had ordered and had been waiting on. You'll be able to see things crystal clear, and in a way that you might not have before. Can we say Perspective Shift? Virgos, remember to take care of yourself too! Spiritual baths are SO important during this time period! Drinking coconut water and bathing with coconut scented washes will be vital right now as it will cleanse you.
Taurus: 10 Of Wands – You're overworking and overloading yourself with chores and things to do, Taurus. Over this New Moon in Leo you're trying to take on too much. I keep hearing Spirit saying, “You're Biting Off More Than You Can Chew”. As proud as Spirit is that you're wanting to conquer the world and take on as much as you can – They want you to remember that the name of the game right now is to pace yourself and take your time on the tasks in front of you. Rome wasn't built overnight, so stop making yourself go on endlessly like a workhorse. Yes, you're in the homestretch, but that is even more of a reason to take your time with tying up those loose ends. Work Smarter – Not Harder. For other Taurus that are taking on their friend's and family's responsibilities – you're being asked to focus on yourself as opposed to trying to fit in one more task to appease someone else. Instead of taking on those side missions right now, why not follow your main story-line for a bit? There's no harm in saying no every now and again; especially with all that you already do for those around you. For one Taurus in particular, you cook and clean for those around you constantly without praise or recognition. It's almost expected of you to drop your entire life just to do that. Again – it's okay to say no, or just to decide to order take-out for the night.
Capricorn: Queen Of Wands - Capricorn's are being asked during this New Moon period to use your passions wisely. Now is the time to really put your mind to what you want to accomplish as it's going to fall into your lap quicker than you expect. The World really IS your Oyster, Capricorn, Remember that! Some are embarking on brand new business ideas. I'm seeing for some starting a new Bakery, a local Shop in your town, or an online store with products unique to you and your calling. There is something very niche about what you do, Capricorn, and you're excited to corner the market with your ideas. You might be looking into business licenses, copyright, and trademarking. You're deciding what the best way to tackle your dreams would be – and if anyone can do it, Capricorn – it's you! Your business oriented mind will focus brilliantly at the task at hand, so make sure to trust your instincts here. It really is a case of You Knowing What's Best. Trust that you have what it takes to achieve your goals. You're brilliant, you Sea Goat, you.
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AIR: 8 Of Pentacles – Wow, Air Signs! You're focusing on getting to work right now, as you know that whatever you're putting your mind to is going to be abundant and successful. You're feeling energized to get to work, which is a welcomed change compared to the last few weeks where you have been feeling tired and drained. So long to energies of exhaustion or frustration – you're headed towards smooth sailing now! And rightfully so, if you ask me! You're ready to put in the work! I keep hearing Spirit saying, “The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Oil”, so you might decide to focus on things that you feel have been put off for way too long. They can no longer be ignored, they have to be taken care of now. For some this might have been projects that you procrastinated on, a cabinet you never fixed, or a leak in a pipe ; now is the time to attend to these things! Putting yourself on your grind is going to be incredibly influential during this time, so make sure not to hold yourself back!
Gemini: Death – Wow, Gemini! Things are changing for you on a molecular level. You might have felt it coming for a long time now, but you're starting to become more open to the idea of endings and change. You're deciding what you want to stay in your life and what you know needs to go. For some that are leaving a situation, perspective, or relationship behind, you're feeling excited to be starting on a new chapter in your life. It's as if you've grown tired of reading that same story over and over again and you're ready to take on another book entirely. You're the main character and now you're really starting to recognize it. Take those risks and go on those adventures, Gemini. I'm hearing, “Life Is Too Short To Not Do What You Love”. Make sure that you're taking that into consideration today as you go forward, Gemini! Only go towards the things that you know feel right to your story-line!
Libra: 2 Of Wands – Libra's are going to be faced with a choice over this New Moon. Do they embark on something different than they've always known? Or do they decide to stay the course and continue down the path that might have not worked out so well in the past? Regardless of what you choose, this is a time of starting over fresh. The New Moon will bring brand new energies your way that will feel brilliant, vibrant, and uplifting. You'll be inspired to go down the route less traveled, but give yourself the space to do so. Be brave, Libra! Some of the best things are worth the risk! For other's, you're deciding to go down a new career or academic path that you know will bring you to your ultimate happiness. Don't put yourself on the back burner and go towards it! Regardless of what others have to say, you know best. (AKA don't listen to your Great Aunt Linda saying, “But you were supposed to be a Lawyer!” If you weren't happy in that field, that's all that's needed to be said.)
Aquarius: Strength – Aquarius, you're really channeling your inner strength right now to go the distance. You might have been applying yourself more recently to your career or the environment around you, which has been making you feel as if you either need everything on a time constraint or you need to take every little thing seriously. Spirit is telling you it's okay to lighten up and let your hair down. For some I'm also hearing, “Comfortable And Functional Can Still Be Fashionable”. Other Aquarians are feeling more comfortable expressing their emotions too as you're letting yourself be more vulnerable during this time. You're feeling affectionate and sentimental, craving more attention and love during this time. You might find yourself craving connection with others – and wanting to meet new people. Those in relationships are going to take their time more to understand their partner's and their own individual feelings, which will lead to more common ground. Now is the time for emotional healing and understanding!
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WATER: The Magician – Water Signs you are being asked to trust your natural abilities as they are a gift. You have all the resources that you need in front of you to accomplish your aspirations. For some I am sensing that there was competition in a workplace environment. Spirit is showing me someone starting a candle business, only for another person to then follow suit. It's out of jealousy and spite, and not something you need to concern yourself with. Copycat energy is really strong here. Water Signs are manifesting right now on such a high level, that they can be expected to have a harvest in soon. For some you might be bringing in a romantic partner, new financial growth, or new opportunities. You'll be excited to see things that you wished for coming true. I keep hearing someone saying, “This Is Exactly What I Asked For, But Better!” Things are working out in your favor, Water Signs. Keep putting in intention and give it some time – it will pay off.
Cancer: The Emperor – Cancer's are really harnessing their Divine Masculine energies and feeling determined to take the bull by the horns over the Leo New Moon. Leo ignites your need for self-expression and freedom within your passions at this time. You're not letting anyone hold you back or put you down any longer – you know what you deserve and need. You're really starting to feel in your element, and you're wondering why you didn't realize you could accomplish this sooner. (“There's Nothing Holding Me Back” by Shawn Mendes energy here strong!) With the number 8 being so strong and prevalent within the month and the day, it really emphasizes the fact that there is a lot of forward movement going on. You're tired of playing it small and not going home with a good prize. “Go Big Or Go Home” is what I keep hearing for you, Cancer.
Pisces: The Empress – Pisces, you're going to be embracing your Divine Feminine energies in the most beautiful of ways. You'll be nurturing both yourself and those around you. You're giving yourself room to grow and consider other avenues of creation. Pisces, you might start to notice that your peers and new acquaintances want to open up to you and tell you their entire life stories. Let them – you never know where you might gain a little bit of insight on your own life while helping another. Trust your intuition during this time too, because your spiritual abilities will be heightened during this New Moon. Pisces might notice seeing more shadows, shapes, or spiritual messages. Don't fear; you're protected, loved, and divinely guided. You might feel guided towards getting more plants for your home – go for it! Bring nature in!
Scorpio: Ace Of Pentacles – A prosperous new beginning is yours, Scorpio! This is going to be the stable, firm, and financially free foundation that you always dreamed of. This is something that you have been manifesting for a long time. You might have had blockages in regards to money, but your luck is changing now. For some Scorpio's you'll be receiving a job offer from a friend. This friend could have a short, brown bob haircut, and they're going to be very excited over the idea of working with you. Take this offer seriously as it will provide so much excitement and comfort into your life! Other's will notice that there are going to be an influx of interviews and job offers over all. I am also hearing that while you work at your new job, you will be provided with more chances to travel as well, Scorpio. Go for it! You deserve it for how much work you've put in.
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FIRE: The Wheel Of Fortune – A lucky period of time is coming into your life, Fire Signs. Are you ready to embrace this exciting turn of events? It's going to be a wild ride, so buckle in! You're going to notice that your luck is changing for the better. This is going to make you feel inspired to take large leaps of faith into a brand new lifestyle. No more small potatoes, Fire Signs. You're ready for the wheels of fate to finally turn in your favor after a long period of feeling shut out in the cold by the Universe. After a perspective shift, you're understanding how lucky and talented you are – and gaining a new perspective of gratitude for life. I keep hearing as well that Fire Signs are going to have the Mitas Touch, where everything they touch will turn to gold. Now is a brilliant time to focus on academic and financial goals. Why not make a Vision Board of everything that you want to bring in over the next year, Fire Signs?
Leo: Judgment – You're closing up Karmic Cycles and breaking Ancestral Curses, Leo. It isn't always easy to have to do this, but it is something that has to happen in order for you to get to the next level. It's okay to feel frustrated, angry, or overwhelmed during this time. Feel your emotions and express them to those around you as they are your Soul Family, and they genuinely want to help you in any way that they can. Leos are also going to be realizing who is actually in their corner. I am hearing that for a few Leos, you're going to understand that someone you thought was there for you no matter what, never really had your back to begin with. Process the pain, grieve the loss of a friend, and continue forward knowing you are doing your best every day. Some Leo's are understanding and identifying longstanding self-sabotaging energies and are deciding to nip it in the bud. Good for you, Leo!
Sagittarius: The Devil – Sagittarius might be dealing with some mental worries and anxieties. The Universe is wanting you to lighten your mental load and decompress some. It's okay to have some alone time just focusing on your relaxation. You don't need to always be on the go or doing something, Sagittarius. Even in different Mythologies and religions the God's took rest – set aside this idea that you don't deserve some rest and relaxation. Other's might be struggling with addictions, but you're going to find it easier over the next few months to distance yourself from self-sabotaging tendencies or toxic patterns. Good for you, Sagittarius! I'm proud of you for recognizing what in your life isn't fulfilling you anymore – and for wanting better going forward. Some in toxic relationships are being asked to take some time to travel or be away from this person to get a clear head on what it means to be healthier by yourself. (You will feel a LOT lighter without this individual around)
Aries: The Tower – There is a major shake-up in your life emerging, Aries! Don't feel scared or intimidated by this, as it's actually a great thing! This is to realign you with where you actually have to be. Spirit is showing me an image of a dog on a leash, getting wrapped around a tree while running while it's owner is frantically trying to unwrap them and saying “No, This Way, Honey!” The Universe is untangling you from a messy situation, and it's going to be for the better. Whether this be through an unexpected job or opportunity loss, a move, or something that you see as unfortunate; it might just be a new opportunity to start over fresh. Now's your chance to turn a new leaf and go towards a firmer foundation for yourself. Some Aries might realize the connections (both platonic and romantic) aren't the healthiest for you. A friend might decide to betray your trust or kindness. You're being asked to let this rug be pulled out from under your feet, so a newer one can be set in it's place. After all, when one door closes – another one opens.
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bqstqnbruin · 3 years
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if u wanna rant abt the person u h*te go for it !
I’m going to put this under the cut because it’s just a lot but 
to preface this: it takes a lot for me to genuinely hate a person. Like there are people that I dislike, but that’s different from me hating them, ya know? I HATE this girl.
So y’all know I was a chemistry major in undergrad, right? I did organic chemistry research the summer after my sophomore year until I graduated. There were four of us: myself, the other girl in my year who was also new to the lab that summer, then two girls who were going into their senior year, one that I liked, one that I didn’t. The one I didn’t like was technically ‘in charge’ because she had been there the longest, she was a year ahead of me (she was class of 2019, I was class of 2020). Let’s call her Jane, because there are a lot of people in this story. 
This girl is really smart. Like brilliant. 4.0 as a chemistry major with a physics and math minor, is currently getting her PhD at Harvard in Physical Chemistry. 
She is the kind of girl who would get the highest grades in the class, ruin the curve type of student. And that’s fine, if you’re smart, you’re smart, get those grades. She would make sure everyone knew that she got the highest grades and make snarky little comments about how “well if you just tried harder then you could get these grades too!” like bitch ??? science is hard calm down ! we know you’re smart ! If you got a higher grade than her, she would make you feel bad about it in a ‘well how did you get a better grade than me’ kind of way. 
So I already didn’t like her going into the summer. 
The night before, my friend and I who were new to the research group get a text from one of our friends saying “Hey, just so you know, Jane was bragging to us yesterday that she was planning on hazing you guys. It shouldn’t be anything actually dangerour, but please be careful.” Keep in mind: hazing is against university policy. In the student handbook, it says that anyone who is caught hazing other students will be removed from the university. 
First day in lab, my research partner and I were there, and she starts telling us to do all this stupid shit, like saying we have to weigh everything out on the scale three times to make sure that it’s accurate, giving us random goggles to wear when we used certain equipment, telling us to yell “fire in the hole” when we used the dry ice tank, that sort of shit. Jane was bragging about it to a professor and he literally had to tell her “if I hear Christina and her partner say anything else about what you’re doing, I’m reporting you to the university president” as if her basically telling him she was hazing us wasn’t enough, but whatever. 
In our lab, we use a lot of glassware. For whatever reason, we call them our “dishes.” Not sure why, that’s just the way it’s always been. It somehow fell on me to do all the dishes, to the point where I would have to come to the lab an hour earlier than everyone else and leave an hour later than everyone else just to get everything done. Our lab was joined with another lab (there was a doorway connecting the two), so we spent a lot of time with that other lab group, and the sink was right by the door that connected them. We were all in the back talking to each other, I’m standing there doing all the dishes, and Jane is complaining about how she hasn’t been able to do anything. So my friend, the one who had texted us saying Jane was going to haze us, was like “Well, why?” Jane turns to me and goes “my minion isn’t washing my dishes fast enough for me.” I was shocked and didn’t know what to say because, like, what the fuck? My friend goes “Maybe wash your own dishes instead of making Christina do them when she has her own shit to do.” 
I still ended up doing all the dishes. At one point, she threw a dish into the sink when I was standing in front of it doing dishes, and it shattered in the sink. Shards easily could have cut me had I been standing a little bit to the left. 
Her 21st birthday was during the summer. Lab tradition is that anyone who has a summer birthday gets like a little celebration: we decorate the lab, we make them a cake, that sort of stuff. So we did. We went all out, because that’s what the lab did for everyone, and that was a tradition we did even after she left. She brought in a bottle of vodka to the lab (I think her boyfriend had picked it up for her and brought it to the science center). We’re a wet campus, so having alcohol isn’t a problem as long as you’re of age. We were all in the back room of the lab, and she passes out cups to everyone, and I tell her, “Oh, I really don’t drink, I don’t want one,” and apparently that meant nothing to her because she kept yelling at me to take the shot of vodka until I did, which, considering I was 19 at the time, definitely wasn’t legal. If the professor of the lab we were in had walked in 2 seconds earlier, I wouldn’t ahve had to drink it. 
So that’s not even all of it. This shit continued into the school year. We were all in the chemistry club (because we’re NERDS). She was one of the presidents with the other girl from our research group in her year, the one that I liked, while I was treasurer and our other friend was secretary. At the begining of the year, she sends me an email outlining the potential fundraisers that we wanted to do, and asked me for my thoughts. The included things like having nights at the local restaurants where they give us a cut of the profits, selling custom stickers that we bought, bake sales, that stuff. She told me, “send me your thoughts.” 
One of her ideas was making and selling liquid nitrogen ice cream. Outside. In November. In Philly, it doesn’t get horribly cold in November, but it gets cold enough that selling liquid nitrogen ice cream outside isn’t the best idea. I had suggested “we can do another bake sale, or other clubs are decorating flatware beakers and selling them like that, we could do that instead. And then we could do the ice cream fundraiser during the sping because it will be warmer and more people will want it.” Everything else, I told her, sure, I like those ideas, this is how I can make them work, this is what I already have going through with the restaurant stuff.
She texts the other president throwing an absolute fit that I turned down the ONE fundraiser for November, telling her “she needs to step up and do better” and that “I’m telling her that this is what we’re doing and she has to do them or we’re removing her from her position.” My friend literally told her, “No, Christina said she would do everything but the one fundraiser and I agree with her.” One of the professors had to get involved because they found my crying in the lab over this, so that was fun. 
I had mentioned the dishes before, but that part of the saga continues. I was the only one doing the dishes still. the girl I liked did hers all the time and tried to pick up the slack, the girl in my year wasn’t doing research during the semester and wasn’t technically allowed in the lab because of legal safety reasons. Jane was still using glassware and not cleaning it. Our research advisor tells us “the health and safety inspector came by the lab and saw all the dishes in the sink. If they aren’t clean by whatever date he comes back, we’re going to get in trouble.” So ok. We have three group chats for the lab: one with the four of us and our advisor, one with the four of us, and one without Jane. Both the one with and the one without Jane were going. In one of them, someone said “we need to figure out a schedule of who can go in when so we can get these dishes done.” I said “I’ve been doing them, but no matter what I do, more and more end up in the sink and I can’t keep up. Maybe if her highness did her own dishes instead of expecting me to do them all, this would get done faster and it wouldn’t be a problem.” I thought I was texting the one without Jane. I wasn’t.
She responds back “Um, haha, wrong group chat” I go, “oh well, do your dishes.” So she knew I didn’t like her, and she definitely didn’t like me. It was pretty obvious before, but now it was pretty much confirmed. 
We had a few research presentations together as a group. Keep in mind, she didn’t much over the summer in terms of research, and what she did do, never worked. Which is fine, that’s how science goes sometimes. She spent more time in the lab working on her applications for various shit. She took our research and presented it at so many different conferences. Granted, we didn’t do much, either, since we only had two months of work which isn’t a lot of time, but she left our names off the posters and really didn’t give us any credit. She said it was because ACS rules stated that the only people who need to go on the research poster were those presenting that actual poster. I went alone to a conference in Florida in 2019, and I had to have her name on the poster for some reason, though. 
That’s pretty much the end of what she did to me, but there was so much other shit that she did to other people, too. I mentioned her intelligence. Her boyfriend LEFT HIS MASTERS PROGRAM TO MOVE WITH HER TO CAMBRIDGE. HE LEFT IT. I’m still mad about that. He deserves better.
Before she had decided to go to Harvard, she had the audacity to tell me that she didn’t want to go to Boston because it was more dangerous than Philly (statisically, it really isn’t). 
She had a restraining order on a guy who was a year behind me because he “assaulted her.” I know both of them fairly well. What had happened, according to him and other students, was that he was getting up from his desk, and the way he swung his backpack to put it on, it ended up hitting her by accident. It was not intentional. The rows of desks are close together, and she was standing close to him. He did not do it on purpose. This guy was also not well liked by people, and something tells me they wouldn't defend him if he actually did it on purpose.
For graduation, you know how people wear cords and medals to represent their activities and accomplishments? She was jealous that the girl in our lab group had more chords than her, so she went and bought more for herself.  
What’s frustrating is that because she was so smart and had so many grants and got the school a decent amount of attention, whenever we said anything or talked about it, nothing happened. The professors knew her and I hated each other, but they didn’t seem to believe why. Whatever. 
I think that’s it. I hope she fails in life, honestly. I do not like her at all. 
Sorry that was a lot, but thank you for letting me rant about this oaidjfaoi
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laserdog10 · 4 years
Text
Toss a Coin
*Team RWBY and co. had arrived in Vacuo weeks ago, got settled in and begun making plans on their next move in bringing down Salem. But first, it was time to rest and relax, for at the battle of Atlas, they had just barely pushed back Salem’s Grimm army thanks to Ruby and her Silver Eyes. Afterwards they and Ironwood made amends, cleared them of their wanted posters, and got them a ride all the way to Vacuo. Right after they landed and reunited with Team SSSN, the first thing they needed was a place to stay...and some (or a lot) of money. So who other than to take a job of ridding Sand Striders of a nearby oasis? Jaune and Sun, both of whom where halfway out in the desert, striking up conversation.*
Sun: So you literally brought back this Clover guy from the brink of death!?
Jaune: Just in time, poor guy was close to flat-lining, if it wasn’t for me giving him some of my Aura, he would’ve died then and there.
Sun: You, my dude, are a damn hero...
Jaune: Yeah, I got that a lot after he woke up. The other Ace Ops were in near hysterics when he came to. *”Elm almost broke my back she was hugging me so hard...” he thought to himself”*
Sun: I guess all’s well that ends w-get down! *ducks behind a dune*
Jaune: What? Oh crap! *ducks behind another*
*There they saw the oasis, as well as the Sand Striders that claimed it. The Grimm in question were tall, their legs long and spear-like, jabbing the water for fish to eat. Their equally as long necks surveying the area for any trespassers on their territory*
Jaune: Are those the Sand Striders? *he whispered*
Sun: Yup, freaky aren’t they?
Jaune: They look like...giraffe’s with way too much nightmare fuel put in them.
Sun: Ha! Not a bad description, man! Now...*readies his nunchucks*...ready to kick some ass?
Jaune: *activating his broadsword* Let’s do this.
*The blonde duo lept from their hiding places and charged the four beasts*
-One badass and epic fight later-
Sun: HELL YEAH! That’ll teach ‘em to mess with the finest Hunters on Remnant! Hahaha!
Jaune, out of breath but smiling: How do you manage to always stay so upbeat, man?
Sun: The rest of my team wonder the same thing, helps keep morale up, Scarlet always says I’m like Jaskier from The Witcher.
Jaune: Uhhh...who from the what???
Sun, jaw going slack and eyes bulging: You don’t know about The Witcher?!
Jaune: *nervous chuckling* Noooo?
Sun: *throws an arm around Jaune’s shoulder* Well my fellow blonde amigo, you, are in for a treat!
Jaune: Heh, alright!
*Sun clears his throat, then hops away from the knight with giddyness in his step. He faced the setting sun, kneeling*
S: When a humble bard, graced a ride along, with Geralt of Rivia, along came this song~...*stands up*
S: From when the White Wolf fought, a silver-tongued devil, his army of elves, at his hooves did they revel~...*turns to Jaune*
S: They came after me, with masterful deceit, broke down my lute and, they kicked in my teeth~...*begins slowly snapping to a beat*
S: While the devil’s horns, minced out tender meat, and so cried the Witcher, he can’t bleat~! *claps, resumes snapping*
S: Toss a coin to you Witcher, o’ Valley of Plenty, o’ Valley of Plenty, ohhh~! Toss a coin to your Witcher, o’ Valley of Plenty~!
Jaune: O_O
Sun: Well???
Jaune: That...was...AWESOME!!!
Sun: I know right!?
Jaune: I don’t how it managed to be so catchy but god bless the person who came up with it!
Sun: Jaskier.
Jaune: Right, right. Awwww now I feel bad because I just bought a loot from the nearby market in the city and left it with the gang!
Sun: It’s all good, man! Song’s so good we hardly need instruments!
Jaune: Fair enough then. Was that the whole song or what?
Sun: Nope, figured I save it on the way back.
Jaune: Well then what are we waiting for!
Sun: Nothing! Follow my lead. *gets next to the knight wrapping his arm around his shoulder again*
S: At the edge of the world, fight the mighty horde, that bashes and breaks you, and leaves you to mourn~!
J: *remembering he’s partially heard the rest of the song before* He thrust every elf, far back on the shelf, high up on the mountain, from whence it came~.
S: Now you’re gettin’ it! He wiped out your pest, got kicked in his chest, he’s a friend of humanity, so give him the rest~!
J: That’s my epic tail, a champion prevailed~.
S: Defeated the villain, now pour him some ale~!!!
*And so the boys joyfully and boastfully sung their way back to town, heads held high and voices loud enough for all of Remnant to hear*
-Back in town, outside the hotel-
Ruby: They should be back by now. You think they got hurt?
Blake: Doubt it, knowing them Sun must’ve came up with something to get it done quickly, but also decided to give them some down time before they left. Vacuo is pretty...as much as barren sand dunes can get.
Ruby: *chuckles* Yeah you’re right.
Blake, ears twitching: Wait, do you hear that???
Ruby: Hear what?
*Through the throngs of people going to and fro, Blake’s sensitive hearing managed to pick up two familiar voices far to the right of them, who appeared to be singing in tandem with each other, to a rather merry tune*
“Toss a coin to your Witcher, o’ Valley of Plenty, o’ Valley of Plenty, ohhh~! Toss a coin to your Witcher, a friend of humanity~!!!”
Blake: That way, it’s them!
Ruby: I hear it now, I know that song! *she sped off like a rocket taking her teammate with her in a flurry of red and black petals. The reaper and Faunus stopped just short of barreling over their friends, looking at them with excited faces*
Ruby/Blake: HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT SONG!?!?
Sun: I know about it! Watched the show with the guys before you came here!
Jaune: I just sang along because it was catchy and I somewhat heard of it, how do you know about it?
*Ruby and Blake almost looked offended at the statement*
Ruby/Blake: We LOVE The Witcher!!!
Ruby, proudly: Played all three games and completed them all one hundred percent!
Blake, blushing and twiddling her fingers: I’ve read all the books, they were amazing. And I’ve...reread them several times now, haha.
*Sun and Jaune looked amongst themselves, eyes wide with realization*
Sun/Jaune: We have found our people....
-Later that night in a tavern-
*The place was a harmonious choir a Hunstmen and civilians alike, singing along as the four teens sang and dance with each other to the jovial song*
RJBS: Toss a coin to your Witcher, o’ Valley of Plenty, o’ Valley of Plenty, ohhh~! Toss a coin to your Witcher, a friend of humanity~!!! Toss a coin to your Witcher, o’ Valley of Plenty, o’ Valley of Plenty, ohhh~! Toss a coin to your Witcher, a friend of humanity~!!!!!
*They reached its end, the whole tavern exploding in cries of gleeful enjoyment, some demanding for an encore, raising their glasses and mugs in their stupor*
Yang: I gotta hand it to ‘em, they sure do know how to please a crowd.
Weiss: Think they would’ve cheered louder if I sang too?
Ren: Do you know the lyrics?
Weiss: N-no...?
_SSN: Then no.
Weiss: Hey!!!
Scarlet: Well it takes a while to get the song down pat, dear.
Sage: We stumbled and mixed a few words up when we first heard it.
Neptune: I would’ve cheered you on just for trying, Snow Angel.
Weiss, ignoring her creeping blush: Thank you! At least someone recognizes true talent.
Nora: Eh, I think they still had you beat.
Weiss: *growls*
*The group all laughed, meanwhile Ruby, Jaune, Blake, and Sun were actually being handed a few Lien just for singing the song from a few patrons. Truly, the song was a thing to behold.*
(A/N: This whole post was based around a headcanon my good man @darksaiyangoku came up with a while back, gave it a little twist of mine and added some slight Lancaster, Black Sun, and Iceberg (cuz why not). Go check him out, he makes good stuff, also watch The Witcher on Netflix if you haven’t, IT’S SO FUCKING GOOD!!!)
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itsclydebitches · 4 years
Text
RWBY Recaps: “A New Approach”
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A friend of mine has a van that she calls the Fun Bus. Oh that’s cute, I thought. I should chuck that into a recap sometime. “All aboard the RWBY Fun Bus!” Except my fun levels are ehhh right now, so how about we just don’t.
In fact, let’s be totally up front about things and get the major positives out of the way:
The animation this volume is absolutely stunning holy shit
I would once again die for James Ironwood. All hail the Hug King
Excellent introduction for Tyrian and Watts. I love feeling like the villains are actually dangerous again
The rest? I’ve got some things to say.
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We open on Ruby looking appropriately downtrodden over their circumstances. Getting carted off in an Atlas police craft and all that. We get a pan across each side of the airship with the group looking angry (Yang) or defeated (everyone else)... with the exception of Nora, who is trying to eat through her bonds. I’m well aware that I’m nit-picking at this point, but for once I’d like the serious moments to remain serious in this show. Given her reaction to Salem, Kuroyuri, etc. we’re all well aware by now that Nora is more than just the comic relief. Undermining the others’ reactions with her making dog noises was an early cue that the writers weren’t going to treat the group’s arrest earnestly. To say nothing of the disservice it does to her character. 
Actually, there were a lot of coincidental dog references in this scene. Nora’s growling. Referring to the Ace-Ops as Ironwood’s “personal attack dogs.” Deducing that he must have a “bone to pick” with them. Obviously this all means precisely nothing. What I want it to mean is that Zwei will arrive in another package courtesy of Tai, wondering how his kids are doing after one ran off and the other went to find her.
(Seriously though, does everyone remember Volume Five’s ending with Raven? Heaven only knows when that will become relevant again.)
While Nora continues to try and eat metal like a rabid animal, Jaune expresses disbelief that the Ace-Ops “took us out like it was nothing.” Honestly, it never ceases to amaze me how often the group is surprised by other people being stronger than them. Like they’re not the youngest and least trained in a world of professional huntsmen. Rather than acknowledging their need for improvement though---callback to Ruby’s “But we already know how to fight” anyone?---Weiss frames it as an exceptionalism intrinsic to her city. “Welcome to Atlas.” You know, the same city she quickly agreed to steal from and then draw the attention of the guards by giving a racist civilian what-for. The speed with which the show flip-flops between ‘We should fear this city’ and ‘But we shouldn’t take any actual precautions’ is pretty impressive.
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All of which is made weirder by Weiss’ next line to the other prisoner locked up with them: “They’re not that big of a deal.” So... which is it, Weiss? Are the Ace-Ops Ironwood’s elites who can obviously take out a group of nine in seconds flat? Or are they worth scoffing and rolling your eyes at? Because you had a rather different opinion literally seconds ago. She does the same thing when the prisoner uses the term “tyranny” to describe the situation in Mantle. She claims now that the label is a “bit much” when before the whole group decided not to approach Ironwood precisely because of how tyrannical he appeared. I swear, good chunks of the dialogue just functions as openings for the plot---let the random prisoner explain all the horrors of this city!---rather than something the character in question would actually say.
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But I’m harping. We learn a bit more about Hill and her “Happy Huntresses,” clearly a parallel to Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. I was actually surprised to learn that she’s a full-on freedom fighter, just based on her posters last episode. The number of them and their professional look felt more like Atlas’ brand of propaganda. Big brother sister is watching you and all that. Then again, we also learn that Hill is gunning for a seat on the council, so it sounds like she’s not an ally of Ironwood’s plotting betrayal, and not a radical entirely removed from him either. We’ll have to wait and see precisely where she falls in this divide between Atlas and Mantle.
That fight is treated rather cheaply by the writing though. In this episode at least. Despite providing numerous looks at how horrible things are for the citizens here, this prisoner, currently representing that fight against the elite, is depicted as an absolute buffoon. He’s not engaging in an important, glorious battle for human rights. He just chucked a brick at an airship. He’s over the top, overly passionate, crazed enough that the group is looking away as he desperately tries to convince the guards up front that these things are important. The thing is? He’s right. But the writing doesn’t encourage us to treat his cause with respect, not when he’s bouncing off the walls and yelling like a conspiracy theorist. Actually, that’s the best comparison I can think of here. It’s like if someone laying out 100% real issues with climate change were written like a crack-pot loner who believes in aliens. That’s this guy.
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We’re shown again that literally everyone recognizes Weiss Schnee---does no one else in all of Remnant have white hair?---before Jaune and a few others get distracted by how pretty the view is outside. Qrow commented earlier that they were no doubt going to jail.
Spoiler! It’s not jail.
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It’s Atlas Academy, animated in a truly stunning design that reminds me of Weiss’ trip to the CTV tower to contact her dad. Looking back, that skyscraper-esque building probably made her anxious for reasons outside of just the call.
“I guess we will be seeing the General,” Ruby says because yeah, why would we have the group experiencing one iota of punishment before being handed the solution to their current predicament? 
Look, anyone who follows these recaps is well aware of my feelings towards the airship debacle. I said last week that I wanted the writing to treat the group’s horrific mistakes and criminal activities seriously, but I wasn’t overly hopeful. I was right not to be. From now until the conversation about Salem, the ‘protagonists can do no wrong’ mindset that drove Volume Six is pulled out again in full force.
First, Winter sees the group in handcuffs and responds with, “You have ten seconds to take those off before I start hurting you.” Which is completely out of character to me. Does Winter adore Weiss? Without a doubt. But Winter is also a stickler for protocol and rules. This is the women who threatened to remove Qrow’s tongue over a few vague, anti-Atlas statements. She is all about devotion to her Kingdom. So how should she react when she sees a group of kids being formally brought in for charges? I don’t know, maybe find out what’s going on before demanding an immediate release? Here, Winter prioritizes the emotional assumption that Weiss and her friends are perfectly innocent as opposed to trusting that they’re in handcuffs for a reason. Which they are. Combine that with the humor of the guards scrambling to obey her with more silly sound effects and it’s once again clear that the group’s arrest was never going to be taken seriously.
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Things get so much worse though. Ironwood starts apologizing to them, also working under the assumption that this was all some sort of silly mistake. Of course you shouldn’t be in handcuffs. You’re the good guys! Yang and a few others have the gall to be haughty here (yeah, how dare you arrest us after we committed multiple crimes) and for a moment I think all of this will actually amount to something when Ironwood laughs and says, “We assumed [the ship] was stolen!”
Uh yeah, goes Ruby. It... was?
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Which results in a brief moment of shock and about three seconds of anger from Winter... and then that’s it. That’s all we get. Weiss interrupts her with, “I’m sorry I worried you, but we did what we had to do” which, no?? Okay first off, worrying Winter is not the issue here. She’s been worried for literally those three seconds and nothing more. Second, as I’ve established numerous times in the past, they did not “do what they had to do.” Absolutely nothing in Argus forced their hand to the point where stealing military property, fighting Cordovin, drawing that grimm, and then deliberately hiding out from Atlas authorities was justified. Why doesn’t Winter or Ironwood challenge them on this? Why the hell would two military personnel accept at face value that committing all of these crimes was necessary? Imagine your younger sister steals a car (which is in no way comparable to an Atlas airship, but let’s run with it). She and her friends then get caught by the neighbor they stole it from, started a fight instead of giving it back, endangered a bunch of other people on the road, got the police involved, and hid out until they were finally arrested. Then at the police station big sister gets angry at the officers for daring to book you and is pacified with a hug. Don’t worry, dear. I know there’s no possible way you could be in the wrong here. No reason to acknowledge, let alone address, why you thought those were acceptable actions in the first place.
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Qrow is briefly called out for letting this happen, but like Maria’s comment last episode about the group being incapable of keeping a low profile, he shrugs it off with a joke. “You try stopping these kids when they have their mind set on something.” You know what these ‘jokes’ remind me of? Privilege. Stuff like “Boys will be boys ¯\_(ツ)_/¯” where people accept that change is impossible, so why would we bother calling anyone out on their mistakes? Boys are just hardwired to hurt girls and call it love. Teens are just hardwired to steal airships and call it necessary. You know what they’re like. Putting your foot down is useless because that’s just how they naturally function... and we’re all going to ignore the fact that no one else could get away with this shit. They’re the special ones exempt from repercussions. There’s a reason why both both Oscar and Ruby smile here. They know they’re not in trouble. 
What all of this boils down to is that the group is above both the law and basic decency. That’s what Cordovin, Ironwood, Winter, and the writing all tell us. It doesn’t matter how many people you endanger. What you steal. What you break in order to accomplish that. Or how long you might try to hide what you’ve done. You’re you, a nebulous acceptance that you’re somehow above everyone and everything. These kids are never going to learn anything because each time they make a mistake---even massive mistakes that put a whole city in danger---they’re rewarded with smiles and a blanket acceptance that they did what they had to do. That is beyond frustrating to me. For the love of god, let them face an actual consequence for once.
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It’s not going to happen though. Even the Ace-Ops apologize for doing their job (and treat Ruby like some sort of celebrity in the process). RWBYJNRQO is painted as victims for suffering the indignity of arrest... when they did numerous things they should have been arrested for. I particularly love Weiss’, “You could have asked us some questions first.” Yes, because everyone should be in the habit of taking a criminal’s word at face value and then letting them go when they say, “I’m innocent.” Rather than acknowledging any of this, the writing has the Ace-Ops go out of their way to emphasize how special the group is. You’re kids, but only technically. You’re students, but who cares. You’re as good as us, regardless of training or qualifications. That fact remains that the group did in fact do everything they were accused of and more, something that should generate reflection on whether they’re up for being paired with professionals, rather than an insistence that they’re automatically on par with these adults who complete their missions in a legal, safe manner. If that Argus fight gets them hugs and cool new weaponry, I shudder to think what else the group can not only get away with, but be rewarded for.
Once everyone blindly bypasses one of the biggest conflicts of Volume Six, we hit on the other divisive choice this episode: Ruby lying to Ironwood about Ozpin and the relic.
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Okay. I’m going to be as clear as I can here: Ruby is being a massive hypocrite. That’s it. That’s the situation. I shouldn’t have been surprised by the fandom’s reaction, and yet I somehow still was. In just a few hours I’ve seen at least twenty posts detailing how Ruby is not a hypocrite because her situation is totally different from Ozpin’s. HE can’t keep secrets. SHE can. Which is the definition of hypocrisy: the group holding someone to a moral standard that they themselves will not strive for. Are there differences between telling the group about Salem and telling Ironwood about Salem? Yes, but the decision of whether or not to tell them derives from the exact same concerns:
Ozpin: I don’t know if I should tell these kids about Salem. I don’t know if I can fully trust them. I worry that admitting the relic still has questions will result in them using one irresponsibly.
Ruby: I don’t know if I should tell Ironwood about Salem. I don’t know if we can fully trust him. I worry that admitting the relic still has a question left will result in him using it irresponsibly.
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And everyone is in on it. During the elevator ride up they all want to know what Ruby will say, meaning that they’re ready and willing to lie the moment she decides that’s best. “We’ll follow your lead,” Blake says. No one pipes up with, “Hey. Why are we considering lying to Ironwood when we decided that there’s no moral justification for keeping secrets like that? Especially from an ally involved in this fight?” Except, the group obviously never decided that. Jaune was happy to keep his secret back at Beacon. Blake too. Yang is still withholding info about the Spring Maiden. They’re all perfectly happy to lie provided they’re the ones doing the lying. Someone else doing that to them though? Omg, how dare you. 
That’s hypocrisy.
(As a side note: good lord this group is so astoundingly bad at fighting a strategic war. They announce that they should be careful about what they say to Ironwood while two of Ironwood’s guards are in the elevator with them. This is a needless conversation! No one has to establish that they’ll follow Ruby’s lead! But yes, let’s talk about our plans to withhold information from the General while two of his men are very obviously listening in. We even get a shot of one guard looking over at that little tid-bit. I wouldn’t be surprised if this came back to bite them in the form of:
Guard, who I am naming Brad: “Sir, I thought you should be aware... the prisoners that just left? I overheard them discussing whether or not they would tell you something.”
Ironwood: “What? But I thought we trusted one another... did they say what this something was?”
Brad: “No, sir. They just agreed to be careful about what they said in front of you. They clearly intended to hide something though.”
Ironwood. “Huh. Now that I think about it, Ruby did interrupt Oscar when he was about to say something. And she was awfully nervous about it.”
Brad: “Sounds suspicious, sir. I’d look into it.”
Ironwood: “Right you are, Brad. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’ll be sure you get a hefty bonus at the holiday party.”
Brad: “Thank you, sir! My husband and I appreciate it.”
Gay guards aside, this is why Ozpin was right to be cautious. This group is too hot-headed, too immature, and often too plain dense to keep world-shattering secrets safe. This moment gets put up alongside Yang’s demand that Ozpin spill all his top-secret info while the random old woman they picked up 30 seconds ago watches. They just don’t think.)
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In short, they are in the same exact situation as Ozpin. Weighing truth against potential repercussions. The fact that said repercussions vary in severity---a group of teens betraying him and/or caving under the pressure vs. a potential dictator betraying them and/or caving under pressure---doesn’t matter. They’re both really bad potential outcomes and both parties are right to be cautious. So yes, I agree with Ruby’s hesitance. It’s the smart thing to do. What I don’t agree with is the characters’ and the fandom’s insistence that Ozpin is not likewise smart for doing the exact same thing. Now that Ruby has made this choice she’d better damn well acknowledge her own hypocrisy. If the writing doesn’t give us a serious moment in which the group reconsiders their actions against Ozpin in light of their recent choices, then the ‘protagonists can do no wrong’ mindset has irrevocably damaged this show. Because you can’t have Ruby making the exact same choices her mentor made and not change her perspective now that she’s had the chance to walk in his shoes. “Oh wow. Sometimes you do want to play information close to your chest. Maybe we were wrong to respond so viciously to Ozpin’s secrecy when I literally just did the exact same thing to someone else. I get it now.”
All that being said, I’d actually argue that Ironwood is in a more justified position to have that information. He’s a chosen member of Ozpin’s inner circle. Ozpin never got the chance to vet this group. He’s a fully fledged huntsmen in charge of an entire Kingdom. They’re a bunch of half-trained kids. Checking in on/taking the relic to Atlas does not require knowing about Salem’s immortality. Enacting a plan to tell the whole world about her really, really does.
Because what else is Ironwood’s end game here? The only way this plan makes any sense is if he believes that Salem is mortal. Ozpin may have failed to kill her, but if we get an entire world to attack her at once we’re bound to win! This plan straight up falls apart when you realize that defeating Salem is not a matter of more manpower. Salem’s immortality is the Achilles’ heel of this scheme, whereas fighting the good fight is something the group signed up for right from the start. Not that Ironwood’s plan is a great one, even if it were viable. I’m sorry, but plunging a whole world into despair---something that draws literal monsters out of the woodwork---is a pretty terrible idea. Ironwood’s army can’t be everywhere at once and an announcement of that proportion would cause an untold amount of death and destruction. I can sort of get Ironwood’s sacrificial perspective. Deal with the fallout because the end result (finally defeating Salem) will be worth it. “Trying to hide the truth from the world will eventually kill us all,” he says, except hiding the truth hasn’t limited humanity in the way he assumes it has. It has allowed humanity to live in peace while a select few try to figure out how to kill an immortal woman.
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...speaking of, how has Ironwood not realized Salem immortality? This remains a basic if/then construction of the story that blows my mind whenever people fail to pass it. “If Ozpin has fought Salem for over a thousand years, then Salem is either immortal or reincarnating like he does.” Because nothing else is possible! I mean, maybe Ironwood does know about her immortality and he intends his plan to work for reasons I can’t fathom right now, but it’s looking really unlikely after this episode. It just astounds me that we haven’t had a single character go, “Of course she’s immortal. Why is that surprising to everyone?”
Anyway, I’ve gotten horrendously off topic plot-wise. We learn that Penny and Winter now know about the relics and Maidens---something that worries me a bit because, as a piece of technology, Penny is potentially hackable. Especially with Watts on the loose. The Ace-Ops know as well. We also learn that they’ve already found the Winter Maiden who, according to Qrow, is “not exactly a spring chicken.” Huh. Another important piece of information that wasn’t blithely announced because people naturally work on a need-to-know basis... Sorry. Not diving back into the salt. That comment does actually intrigue me though. We know the powers can only pass to young women, so it’s a cool setup to present us with someone who has actually survived with that power for most of her life. I’m also eager to know whether Winter is set up to be the next Maiden. “Young” is a subjective marker and one of the criticisms fans have leveled at Ozpin is the fact that he put that pressure on Pyrrha instead of asking an older, fully trained huntress to be the Fall Maiden. Making Winter the next Maiden will lend support to that criticism. Ozpin could have chosen someone older, an actual adult, and actively chose to give it to a teen. As opposed to the assumption I’ve always worked under: those like Glynda and Winter are now too old. We’ll have to see.
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Outside of the Salem part of the plan, I think making Amity Arena into a satellite is an excellent idea. Provided grimm like the Nevermore really can’t reach it. It’s actually cool to see how our real life, kind of boring tech makes its way into a sci-fi/fantasy series.
And while all this stuff is getting revealed we see how utterly thrilled Ironwood is to have them all back. To be blunt: I adore this characterization. I want this to be real. Not only because it’s a breath of fresh air to have someone acting so loving and optimistic  towards everyone---He acknowledges Ozpin’s existence! Look at that smile! Kneeling down!---but also because it would be an excellent subversion of the premier’s setup. Dictator-y military figures buckling under paranoia is out. Tired but loving military figures making mistakes they’re willing to fix is in. That hug with Qrow? It added ten years to my life. Tender moments between two stoic guys will carry me through these cold winter months.
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But (there’s always a “but”...) I’m not willing to buy into this characterization just yet. Not only because Ruby herself obviously isn’t ready to trust it. Not only because this is a story and we expect conflicts in the form of twists and surprises. Not even because there are moments where our trio feels vaguely threatening, stationed perfectly behind that desk, separated from the rest of the group.
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No, I’m  hesitating because this whole encounters feels... staged. Let’s review the series of events from Ironwood’s perspective:
You learn that one of your airships has been stolen
Instead of sending some everyday guards like the situation calls for, you send out your most elite group to take care of this issue
They immediately confiscate the relic, demonstrating a) that they know it’s important (they recognize it as a relic) while likewise b) not showing any surprise that one of the four, magical objects in the world just happened to turn up among these random teens
They bring the relic to you
Someone orders the pilots to bring RWBYJNRQO to Atlas Academy, not jail
You then act surprised when the group suddenly arrives
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Which, under the circumstances, makes no sense to me. Even if Ironwood had no idea who stole the airship (I’d have expected Cordovin to have contacted him about the distinctive group heading his way...), he would have figured it out the moment the Ace-Ops walked in with a relic in their possession. Someone obviously gave the order for them to bypass jail and come straight to him. Basically, Ironwood is expecting them. Ironwood set up the arrest and everything attached to it. The surprise at their arrival, the fawning over their treatment, really over the top emphasis on trusting each other... This whole thing feels fishy to me considering that he had to have known it was all happening in the first place. It feels like a man crafting a situation where he can look approachable and kindly, arriving like a savior and endearing the group to him. Remember who got you out of those bonds? Huh? Huh? Even the choice to give Ruby the relic back. Do I need to point out how incredibly stupid that is? Ironwood isn’t stupid. He wouldn’t give an invaluable, magical object back to a 17yo unless he had another, good reason for doing so; unless the need to make Ruby and her followers blindly trust him outweighs the risk the relic is in while she carries it.
I mean... seriously. The entire point of coming to Atlas was to put the relic in a safe place. And then Ironwood decides that carrying it around on the streets is somehow better than locking it up in the vault? When Ruby and everyone else just got beat by the Ace-Ops in about five seconds flat? Someone could take the relic off them in a heartbeat! It doesn’t even need to be a main villain. Some stronger-than-average goons could manage it under the right circumstances and a bit of luck. Look at this bright, shiny thing we can sell for quick lien. No, I have to believe Ironwood has an ulterior motive here. As much as I want him to genuinely be what he presents himself as---the embodiment of our opening, “When we trust in love and open up our eyes”---a lot of this just doesn’t fit.
(Then again... it’s RWBY. And the writers are clearly still working with protagonist vision goggles. Maybe Ironwood really does think Ruby keeping the relic is the best option here. In which case he’s just a fool.)
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All of which, notably, still keeps our group from tackling the core, ethical issue: why they want to fight Salem when they think it’s impossible. They’re ignoring that question by keeping the truth from Ironwood. The plot avoided them completing their mission by having them get the relic back. We’re just existing in perpetual limbo here.
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Which finally brings me to Penny. The end of this episode has her leading the group on an exhausting tour of Atlas Academy, the exact sort of bubbly, silly, casual interaction we got with her in the early volumes. Last week when I pointed out how inappropriate everyone’s reactions were to finding out a friend is back from the dead, a lot of people commented that we’d get to the emotional stuff later. Or going so far as to claim that the group, Ruby in particular, is suffering from a delayed reaction. Except we didn’t see that. There’s a difference between a setup and a non-evidence based assumption that what we want to watch will eventually end up on screen. There was no setup for a delayed reaction. No Ruby holding back tears. Or a closeup on someone grappling with an emotion. Or someone else trying to say something before they were cut off by the sirens. All of those imply that an emotion exists but, since we don’t have the time or the inclination to deal with it now, we’ll come back to it later. That wasn’t the case last week. Every emotion was clear and complete, no variation in regards to the overall chill acceptance of Penny’s resurrection. Now, we’ve seen that trend continue. Ruby doesn’t stop in shock when Penny appears in the Academy hall. We’re given no indication that anyone is distracted by her while discussing business, in the way one might be when a friend and ally is unexpectedly back in your life. When she’s left alone with them, there’s nothing except the montage of exhausted tourism and Ruby’s demands to know where they’re sleeping. Basically, I think this is it. Sure, maybe later down the line---maybe even next week---Ruby will have a heart-to-heart with Penny, but by that point it’ll be too late to feel emotionally fulfilling. We’ve already seen their first meeting, a surprise encounter, doing business, and hanging out together, none of which acknowledges her status as a miracle. Hell, in this episode at least, no one even cares that she knows about relics and Maidens now. Penny has never been closer to the group, but she’s still being treated primarily as the comic relief.
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As @valasania-the-pale​  pointed out to me, we also have the question of when Penny was rebuilt. Doesn’t anyone, at the very least Ruby, care that their friend was brought back and no one thought to tell them about it? Would Ironwood, Pietro, and Penny herself have just let them live with her death indefinitely? It’s a pretty messed up situation when you think about it. A fantastic setup in my opinion, but one that Rooster Teeth isn’t equipped to handle well. Like with so much of RWBY, there’s great potential and very little follow-through.
At least Watts and Tyrian were introduced appropriately. We got confirmation that Watts helped build the Atlas code and now controls it at his whim, causing crashes and powering down security cameras. It’s the perfect threat for a city almost entirely reliant on its technology. Even down to, as said, an ally like Penny who knows all these secrets. Hell, Winter’s comment about the group having access to Atlas’ best weaponry while they’re here is worrisome. What if their upgrades end up hackable as well?
Tyrian, meanwhile, is still Tyrian. That blood pool was a great shot in my opinion. Wonderful creep factor as he sets off into the city. “I suppose we all have our talents” indeed.
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Obviously then, there’s a lot going on. A lot to cover and, on my end, continually dwindling hopes that RWBY will cover it well. I can’t be too excited about the group lying when we 100% bypassed their choices last volume. If the show isn’t willing to call them out on those mistakes, I doubt they’ll be willing to call them out on this one either. I’m preparing myself to watch precisely what we’re getting in the fandom right now: an insistence that Ruby is wonderful for keeping her secrets while further demonizing Ozpin for keeping his. Because that’s where we’ve been for the past fifteen episodes: perpetually insisting that everything the group does is, by default, heroic. Logic and hypocrisy aside. 
But we’ll have to see.
Until next week 💜
Minor Things of Note
1. Please pay attention to precisely how many long, wide, and aerial shots we get throughout the episode. This is what happens when your main cast is made up of twelve people all working in the same place. Plus six more including Maria and the Ace-Ops. That’s far, far too many characters.
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2. I really love how the Ace-Ops’ tail gives away how excited he is. That was adorable.
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3. Despite my enjoyment at Ironwood’s obvious joy over seeing Ozpin... morally this is so fucked up for Oscar. He’s introduced by Qrow as, “the next Ozpin,” essentially undermining his identity as his own person (note how massively uncomfortable his body language is in this moment). Ironwood then immediately starts speaking to him as Ozpin, not at all interested in the kid he’s housed in. If he even understands that Oscar is a separate person. We should all keep in mind that just a few days ago Qrow told Oscar to stop thinking of himself as an individual. Ruby agreed with him via her silence. The whole group was happy-go-lucky when Oscar announced that he’s resigned himself to just disappearing someday. As happy as I am that someone actually acknowledged Ozpin’s existence and (gasp!) was happy to see him, Oscar is still getting the short straw in all this. The group really treats him like he’s some form of transportation and nothing more. Penny, our resident robot, has more agency than he does.
4. Maria is still just hanging out with Pietro, I guess? Does she care that the group got arrested? Is she trying to do anything about it? I’m half expecting a comedic moment where she barges in, prepared to break them out and take on all their captors... only to realize they never needed her help in the first place.
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5. I like this shot of the relic, the first thing to be bathed in light when Ironwood’s presentation ends. Not convinced it means anything, but a cool perspective nonetheless.
6. Intrigued by this guy. 
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7. Love, love, love, love, love Watts’ purple outfit. I mean, I’m just a sucker for purple in general. So... yeah. There’s that. 
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pbandjesse · 5 years
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I'm feeling very tired. Not really in a bad way but still. It was just a long day. And my allergies are bothering me from kicking up a bunch of dust organizing with James earlier. But it's okay. I'm going to go to sleep soon.
I didn't sleep very good last night. James is heat turned on in the middle of the night and I was just unbearably hot. He got up and turn on some more fans and that helped but it was still pretty terrible. The thermometer on the AC unit said it was 87° in front of the heater. It was a horrible. Like I don't mind being awake and warm at his apartment but I can't sleep like that. Too close to a radiator. Especially because for some reason he has no control over it at all. But I live in Minneapolis and I had a radiator I could turn it off at least. It's fine. I got enough sleep.
He woke up early and made us waffles. I got up a little before 8 and got ready enough to go home after we had breakfast. It was nice to sit with him. And then I walked home. I went to Rite Aid to pick up a few things I need it. I talked to a nice man outside to help him figure out how to get to the Social Security Office. I hope I gave him good enough directions. And then I went back to my place.
I got back here a little after 9. I spent the first hour kind of cleaning and handling some stuff. I took the trash out. I made pasta salad and enjoyed having the door open for a bit. But then I start getting too cold. And I had to convince weepy to come inside. He knows what I tell him to come inside because he chitters back at me and then he runs a friend. But today we just have the chitters conversation back and forth for a few minutes until I told him I would leave the door cracked for him. And about 10 minutes later he pushed his way inside.
I had lunch and pack up my bag. And I headed out. I brought my Furby Vincent with me. And while I was at the bus stop I took him out of my bag to take a picture and someone walking by slow down and gave me a thumbs up and said nice Furby. And it made me laugh.
It was a nice day. I got to work and get some stuff for the class. I thought maybe you were supposed to have a meeting today but everyone else was like no we had an email meeting. I wouldn't call a meeting rather just a bulletin but that's okay. I worked on a lesson plan and got our board ready. And then Chelsi came and we went to Subway together. She offered to drive which was very nice of her I am we got sandwiches and came back and I went to get our kids.
It was a pretty good day. Everyone was kind of in a weird mood and I told the kids that we could find a Planet to blame it on. And I told them that I think Jupiter is in retrograde so we spent about ten minutes yelling about how Jupiter was ruining everything. It was very very funny. But the day was fine.
We worked on art and drew with charcoal again. We're finishing those up. And it was nice to be able to work with the kids on what is essentially a harder project. Making annoying choices to fit a set of rules. But they did a good job. We listen to music and everyone had charcoal all over them and it was just fun.
The day ended quickly enough. Some middle-schoolers wouldn't stop pointing out how short I was. But it was fine. Still a nice day. Honestly anything was better than yesterday. I was just so sad yesterday. Everything just felt very heavy and hard. Today was much better.
The bus was coming as soon as I got around the corner. And I ran the last block but the bus driver was stopping for me anyway. I got back to my neighborhood around 6. Went and drop some stuff off at my apartment. And went to meet James at the pizza place.
I have literally eating out once or twice a day every day for the last 5 days. And I hate that. It's not ideal and I hate that right after I said I wasn't going to eat fast food for a few months then all of that happened. I mean I haven't paid for all of it. But still. James bought us a pizza. And we made a plan for the night. We will go back to my place and do some organizing and packing. He would take one suitcase or so back with him. It's hard to decide what I should pack up now because I still have to live here for a few months but I feel good to get something out of here. He would also go home and finish my taxes tonight so that was kind of a load off. I don't have to think about it anymore.
We are going to smione closet. Went through the trunks. But all of the stuffed animals except for my sloth on my lion away in one trunk. Which makes me kind of sad because I can't see them but it's okay. I think when we move all the Furbies will also fit in there. And we brought down all of my tiny suitcases and cleared them out. We organized all of the sheets that I have and then I went and took a bath. James went through small suitcase in the living room and when I was done in my bath I felt very very weak. Which was annoying because I felt really good right after the bath. It was just once I got upstairs I like ran out of all energy. Had to sit still for a few minutes. It was a little concerning.
But I shook it off and James and me went through all of the stuff in those three boxes. He took the two suitcases into the closet to go with the other empties and I put all the little bits and Bobs I had cleared out in two piles. One that was get rid of in trash and one that was keep. So I organized to keep one and James went through the other. It was decided that all the stuff that was get rid of would go to the school for the kids. It's like pieces of paper and posters and notepads and little tiny toys that I don't want anymore. I'm thinking I could add them to like the store or something. Next year maybe I'll have my own art store but for now Miss Tiffany will have to do.
James went home around 9. I finished testing all of the extra charging cables I have. Found the ones that worked and got rid of the ones that didn't. I changed and did yoga. And now I'm laying down. Because my breathing is hard. I'm just kind of watching videos of soon I will go to sleep.
Tomorrow morning I'm hoping to do some more organizing. I want to go through all my blankets and pillows and see what I can put in vacuum bags now. Ideally I want all of my blankets to fit in the one trunk that I have as a coffee table. Unclear if that will work. I have a lot of blankets. I hope everything is good with you. I just feel really tired and beat up. Send me some positive vibes. Good night everyone
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