#she is currently the mentor of the other three and her whole arc is her just being like oh god right morals | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

asoulunbound · 1 month

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Alternate CM Timeline for Spencer and Aly (@sunomaly)

Notes: Most of the show beats are still present, the only major change is Aly's inclusion in the story and removing the Maeve storyline.

Pre-show:

Spencer and Aly are introduced by Gideon during their time at the Academy and become good friends. They graduate together and start at the BAU at the same time.

Season 1-2: In denial

Spencer still has his date with JJ and the fling with Lila in LA (maybe because they are pretty blonds like his very good friend? Who knows…! The poor boy is not on trial.) Although JJ not only brings Penelope along to the “date” but Aly as well, after all, she wants all the young team members to bond.

His fling with Lila lasted only a few weeks. One visit from her to Washington and him flying over to LA for an extended weekend. But they do stay friends and they sometimes go out for a meal when they are in the same city.

Spencer is held hostage by Tobias Hankel at the end of season 2. He still stays quiet about his addiction. Aly, along with Hotch and Gideon notice the changes in Spencer over time. Spencer begins to realize that he might like Aly as more than just a friend.

When Gideon leaves the BAU, he leaves behind two letters. One for Spencer and one for Aly.

Season 3-6: The pining

Most things stay close to the show. But Spencer comes more and more to terms with the fact that he’s in love with Aly. The two of them become even closer and the team starts to take notice of the fact that they have feelings for each other neither’s brave enough to admit.

Season 7-8: A budding romance and most personal case

Spencer spends most of his time with JJ while mourning Emily, not wanting to burden Aly while she’s hurt, too. After she returns and amends are made, Spencer finally asks Aly out on their first date, and they start a relationship.

At the same time, the first murdered young woman is found in Wyoming, m.o. and victimology fitting the murders Aly’s father committed. The team is sent the case files to consult on the case after three more murders, but there is little they can do without proper jurisdiction and the local PD’s unwillingness to officially bring in the FBI. The whole thing becomes more mysterious when Aly and Penelope discover a strange woman masquerading as Aly has been visiting Tobia Williams in prison. A cat-and-mouse game between the BAU and the notorious serial killer begins.

Season 9-10: A proposal, a death, and a wedding

Aly and Spencer grow closer, and they take the next steps in their relationship as they move in together. After getting shot at the end of Season 9 protecting Alex Blake, she visits him to say goodbye and opens up about her deceased son. Before she leaves, she’s the first Spencer tells about his plan to propose to Aly.

At the beginning of Season 10 Spencer proposes to Aly and they start planning their wedding. Their plans are interrupted by the somber news of Gideon’s murder. Losing their mentor and father figure they decide to postpone their nuptials. Season 10 ends with their wedding.

Season 11: A New Adversary

Spencer still takes a sabbatical to visit his mother, who isn’t doing well with her current medication. During his stay with her, it is discovered that she suffers from Alzheimer’s, a fact he hides from Aly and the rest of the team.

He’s still the one going undercover to meet Cat Adams, who believes his wedding ring to be fake because it’s too new for the story he has told her. Aly and the rest of the team discover Diana Reid’s dementia diagnosis. Spencer reveals to Morgan and Aly that he’s afraid he’ll contract dementia since he missed the generic schizophrenia markers when he turned 30.

to be continued… (Mostly because I don't know how to handle the prison arc yet)

#&& this is calm and it’s doctor (Spencer): headcanon #(TO ME THIS IS NOW CANON!!!)

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haleigh-sloth · 1 year

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Do you think All Might knows about the saving Shigaraki idea or Deku probably has only told Ochako about it?

Well, I guess it’s up in the air in the same way that it’s up in the air if Shigaraki knows about Twice being dead. Could go either way. With Shigaraki it really won’t make a difference either way, but with All Might it actually would be pretty stupid if he DID know, in my opinion.

All Might has been shown to be quite callous as of late. And he’s basically been shoved aside with Gran Torino in terms of ideals.

If you’re asking me, I feel like if the story wants me to think that a character is feeling a certain way, it needs to be shown or said. Izuku in chapter 305 and an instance or two in the rogue arc, Izuku and Ochacko in chapter 342, Shouto in chapter 342–those are all instances that either SHOW or TELL me that these characters feel a certain way and want to do a certain thing.

All Might has had no such instance, so therefore I have no reason to believe he knows Izuku’s intentions and is on board with them if he did.

The way we were shown the conversation between him and Ochacko in 342 was shown in such a way that pretty much indicates Izuku hasn’t had a chance to tell anybody his intentions, because as soon as Ochacko mentioned feeling conflicted on Toga—he jumped at the opportunity to reassure her that she isn’t the only one conflicted and having these confusing feelings. When he departed from the island Toga yanked him to, she reassured him that she knows what he wants to do and believes he can do it. It seems to be a thing they’ve only confided in each other.

Honestly if it turns out All Might knows, then he’s been very shitty in the mentoring/supporting department. Or, maybe it’s just really sloppy handling of it—because I personally feel like it would be complete bullshit for these three kids to struggle internally to come to these decisions, and it be a big deal with BIG pay off and success for them, only for it to turn out that “Oh look! All Might was on board too!”

I do think All Might at his core is a person who wants to save Tenko. He’s held back by peer pressure, internal conflict, hopelessness that anything can even be done about Tenko, and his own feelings of helplessness too. I do think he remains at the core of everyone’s heart their inspiration to be true heroes—but I really hope the “true hero” mentality isn’t just handed to him after calling Touya insane, not acknowledging Shigaraki’s current lack of agency despite being aware that he’s possessed, and then when the three kids went back and forth, thought about the consequences and pain they’ve endured, and STILL chose to save despite all of that, while All Might has shown absolutely no difference between the time Gran Torino shut him down and now.

That’s how I feel but honestly, I can’t say it’s impossible for him to just have been on board the whole time either.

#anonymous #bnha asks #bnha #all might

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givemethesleep · 1 year

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The League of Extraordinary Wizards

The Not Entirely Comprehensive Guide to Sleep’s AU the NPCs of the Spiral Cast.

Disclaimer - This is all AU stuff, and was initially written out to be something of like.... a hypothetical Wizard101 DLC? If you dislike it, that’s totally fine!!! If you like it, let me know!!! A good thing to read, especially as I begin uploading my writing (maybe.) ANYWHO- [Has not been proofread cause I’m tired]

The League of Extraordinary Wizards is an organisation established by a sorcerer named Amira Crane 25 years before the main events of the game, endorsed by Headmaster Ambrose. This group of skilled magicians help to tutor, guide and mentor Ravenwood students who show extreme promise. Amira initially created this group to provide extension for her son Spencer, who now runs the League in his mother’s ill health. For each year of students coming through Ravenwood Academy, one student is nominated by their professor to represent their School of Magic and receive advanced classes, as well as opportunities to do work to help the Wizard City community - and later help people Spiral wide. Even some familiar faces have that elusive lifelong League membership under their belts (How else would Malorn have been brought to the attention of Headmaster Ambrose after the incident with the Death School? And Ceren being on Unicorn Way when it was blocked to students?) Though perhaps under that pristine, perfect surface, things aren’t quite what they seem....

There are a couple of other headcanons that come alongside this AU that I’m going to post about separately (since they’re pretty rambly) but some things you should know that don’t require a whole lot of depth to make sense :

Mana is found all over every universe, but magic users tend to be found in areas with high mana concentrations, or who actively interacted with mana-rich environments

Time moves differently on Earth than in the Spiral, which explains why wizards from Earth don’t return home. For each year in the Spiral, 3 years pass on Earth. So while a Wizard from Earth ages 10 years in the Spiral, family members will have aged 30.

The ability to manipulate, carry and create mana for the use of spells comes from a mutation in DNA from long term mana exposure, allowing or the production of mana creating and mana carrying proteins (shoutout to my biology teacher for this one)

- However, building on that, it’s not uncommon that these genes and proteins are faulty or simply not present, which is why very few of the Wizard City Guards are active magic users.

Arcs 1-3 take 13 years, and for the sake of aging and consistency and stuff, ages listed below are characters ages at the start of Arc 1

Admittedly, this AU was an excuse to Make Little Guys and Put Them In Situations, but pretty much every OC on this list has at least one questline attached to them and some even have work as Vendors or otherwise help the Young Wizard/Player Character - so if anyone catches your eye, send me an ask about their quest or them in general!! (I’ll be doing a Pirate version of this post soon, so stay tuned for that also!)

CAST LIST (aka Sleep has too many characters. Feel free to skip!)

STAFF

Amira Crane

, she/her, late 60s, Sorcerer - Rarely seen but quite well known, Amira is the founder of The League. Has fallen ill early in the game, and surrendered leadership to her son.

Spencer Crane

, he/him, 39, Pyromancer - Current head of The League, a mildly unpleasant man, who cares for three things above all. Wealth, Reputation, and his young daughter.

Jomana SandTamer

, she/her, 24, Sorcerer - Skilled sorcerer and Sun trainer, Jomana is one of the three main points of contact that students have with Spencer. Probably helps that she looks considerably younger, though she’s been sleeping for hundreds of years in Krokotopia.

- Janus SoulMask

, they/he, 23, Diviner - Janus was born on Earth in the 1970s and taken to Earth in the early ‘80s, and sometimes it shows in the slang they use. Takes particular care for children who came of their own free will (read - manipulated) to the Spiral like himself. Also the resident Moon trainer

Grizelda GriffinTamer

, she/they, 23, Pyromancer/Thaumaturge - Being raised on the skyways by a bunch of Grizzleheim pirates doesn’t make you particularly friendly, though Zelda tries her best. The students can be pests sometimes, so if her office is empty chances are she went home early. Teaches Star spells to League students.

- Melora TaleThief

, they/she, 29, Conjurer - Raised by an adventurer, the League’s secretary is full of anecdotes, when you can get them to talk. In later levels, however, she reveals a skill with shadow magic and offers her tutelage - illegally, of course. Ambrose and Spencer both would have a fit.

Class 25, Same Year as the Young Wizard*

- Dorothy RubyTalon

, she/her, 13, Pyromancer - From a wealthy and influential family on Firecat Alley. For the sake of comedy, her family is named alphabetically. Academic Rivals with Jordan.

- Jordan WinterHeart,

he/him, 13, Thaumaturge - From a similarly wealthy and respected family on Colossus Boulevard. Has three younger sisters and a cousin he cares deeply for. Rivals with Dorothy, but is a lot less enthusiastic about it.

- Blaine SilverStone

, they/he/she, 13, Diviner - Grew up on Triton with their single mother, entertaining himself by tinkering, crafting and inventive. Incredibly creative, but runs their mouth more than necessary. Thinks they have one pet bat - there are several bats living in the roof and Blaine thinks that Maurice is simply really fast.

- Luis DawnCaller,

he/him, 13, Sorcerer - Though initially reserved and independent, Luis is very well rounded for a sorcerer. Very polite! Adopted by a pair of Marleybonian Airship makers who love him very much.

Tatiana RoseThorn

, she/her, 13, Theurgist - Sent to Ravenwood to study and avoid following her mother into servitude in Darkmoor, Tatiana is fiercely protective of herself, and her independence and desperation for power and approval make her a terrible team mate or support player.

- Brynn DrakeHeart

, she/they, 13, Necromancer - Born to Dragonspyre refugees, Brynn’s connection to death isn’t her favourite feature about herself, though she has an intense love and interest in her history and heritage. Was selected by Jomana with Malorn’s input in the absence of a Death Professor.

- Esmee DreamWalker

, she/her, 13, Conjuror - A half-fairy from Avalon, Esmee is a diligent and hardworking conjuror, who wants to make her professor and her mother proud. She writes home often, and has a love of creatures and their stories.

Class 26

Deirdre SunCatcher,

she/her, 12, Pyromancer - One of Esmee’s childhood best friends, she would spend her days watching her father at the forge back in their village in Avalon. She wants nothing more to be useful, and is very kind and protective of her friends.

Isabella WinterMask

, she/her, 12, Thaumaturge - Her mother was a cobbler and her father a journalist in Marleybone. She’s very inquisitive - almost too much for her own good. Very excited about meeting a real life fairy.

Gabriel DawnSpear,

he/they/it, Unknown, Diviner - A Celestian construct meant to simulate hut a human would act with the learning capabilities of a Celestian. When the Marleybonians began messing around, ‘Gabriel’ was taken out of storage, and upon activation began looking for new things to learn and catalogue. One unwatched Spiral Door and a few weeks in Wizard City later, Gabriel enrols himself into the school of Storm and passes as a skilled diviner - allowing him acceptance to the League. Lets hope their identity doesn’t get outed to the public...

- Samuel PathFinder,

he/him, 12, Sorcerer - Having grown up on a farm on Earth and having been taken to the Spiral at the very beginnings of That Virus, coming into this new environment made Sam pretty skittish, and is almost solely a support for his companions. Makes an effort to protect his classmates how he can.

- Madison FairyBlood,

she/her, 13, Theurgist - After being expelled halfway through her first year at Pigswick, Madison was sent to repeat her first year at Ravenwood with her Uncle Chester’s punishments hanging over her head. Uncomfortably nasty and violent for a Life Wizard.

- Cole Raven,

he/him, 12, Necromancer - He doesn’t talk much about his past besides growing up in Grizzelheim, in your typical edgy teenaged fashion, and though Cole is a skilled necromancer and could prove useful in group settings, he is very strict in isolating himself from his classmates from one reason or another.

- Jesse DarkWood, he/him. 12, Conjuror - Son of Victor Darkwood in the robes shop, Jesse has a sense of responsibility and a cool and calm demeanour. He’s a natural born leader, and there isn’t a whole lot that can ruffle his feathers - besides the undead.

Schismists (ages from Arc 2)

- Emmaline FrostFlower,

she/they, 15, Thaumaturge - Younger cousin to Jordan WinterHeart, Emmaline has a serious need to be seen, be listened to, to be respected. She needs to be important to be worth something, and recreating the first world and having a position of leadership under Spider seems like the perfect plan. While the Old One tries to make amends, Emma gathers the interests of people put out by the sudden change of plans.

- Valkoor TitanBlood,

he/him, 15, Necromancer - Tatiana’s cousin, though they don’t talk, and another child sent from a life of servitude. The only person who’s interests Valkoor is willing to protect is his own, and by extension Spiders. Very flashy and dramatic!

- Lukas BattleBringer,

he/him, 15?, Pyromancer - In an attempt to escape the horrors of the fighting pits, Luke accidentally knocks out a travelling pyromancer in fear and steals her robes and spellbook. Hidden in a cave, the satyr tried to master rudimentary spells like Firecat and Fire Elf before getting picked up and tutored by Emmaline and Valkoor under the protection of other schismists.

Miscellaneous (Ages from Arc 1)

- Stephanie DragonWhisper,

she/her, 15, Theurgist - Earth Wizard from remote Australia, she was almost too quick to step through the portal to Merle’s office. After a rough few weeks getting settled and the onset of Professor Sylvia Drake’s illness, she makes friends with other students in her class and in other schools, and is taken under the wing of Zeke and Eloise who all but formally adopt this troubled but inquisitive young girl. She goes on to act as a hint base and sparring partner for the Young Wizard and takes on an Arcanum internship and an admission to the Council of Light in the later worlds.

- Sean IceWeilder,

- Olivia O’Doyle,

he/him/they?, 15, Thaumaturge - Another Earth Wizard, taken to the Spiral a few weeks after his now best friend Stephanie. He’s a bit of a clumsy Ice wizard, but his proficiency in wards has proven useful. He and Stephanie are an iconic duo that can be spotted in every world, just like Zeke and Eloise!

- Louella PixieHunter, she/her, 14, Necromancer - 5th and final Earth Wizard on this list, Louella turned down an offer to be the death school representative for Class 24 of The League and has stong negative feelings about the institution and its almost elitist attitudes.

she/her, 22, Thaumaturge Dropout - Daughter of the dye shop keeper and the guard outside of Colossus, Olivia was the designated babysitter for her cousin Mindy, Jesse Darkwood, and the WinterHeart kids when they were little. Now she helps her mother run the Dye Shop and helps Emmaline with her shopping when she’s too busy. Is dating Janus.

- Noelle, Lumi and Gwendolyn Winterheart,

all she/her, 11/9/6 respectively - Jordan’s younger sisters and Emmaline’s cousins.

- Nochtli,

he/him, 28, Theurgist - A blue triceratops Aztecosaur and gardening enthusiast with several quests regarding conservation with the approach of Xibalba. He’s very sweet!

- Sandra O’Connell,

- Snuggles,

she/her, 35, N/A - Esmee’s mother and widow of King Artorius’ knights Sir Morgrim Wyrmbane.

- Tarmi, she/they, 27, Thaumaturge/Necromancer - Wallaru sharkmer, feared in her community as a dark witch communing with spirits. Some even go so far as to accuse her of kidnapping! Though in truth, she just wants to be left alone in her cave to study her magic.

he/him, 5, N/A - Stephanie DragonWhisper’s pet Forest Basilisk. Neediest pet known to man. Hates Ceren, loves anyone else. Has Lore.

*(Note: The Wizard either does not get nominated because they’re too busy saving the world, OR get wedged in last minute alongside the representative of their School)

SO THIS TOOK ME LIKE 8 HOURS TO WRITE. I am taking questions and clarifying stuff as needed! Any and all support would be appreciated, and I look forward to hopefully sharing more stuff with you soon!

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thelediz · 1 year

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Psssst...given that pokeani has gone completely off the rails, how abt dropping that big rant abt the "Ash assistant coach in Galar battle league" au you shall never write? It's been living rent-free in my head ever since you mentioned it bc I love mentor Ash and I bet you'd do more justice to Galar in bullet points than pokeani did in its whole journeys run :3c

Oh, be careful what you ask for... I have pages of bullet points and half a page of prologue.

For those of you who don't know (or remember a side-comment I wrote in an author's note three years ago - seriously, my dude, wow), at the start of Journeys/end of Alola, I came up with an AU to carry on Ash's story. But it was an idea for a series, not a story, so it sits in my documents untouched.

So the basic deal is this: Galar has a different kind of league to the rest of the Pokemon world. In Galar, trainers compete as teams, rather than individual trainers. Each team does have a captain – the one who is supposed to be the best, and ultimately becomes champion – but it becomes clear over the series that the greatest trainers in Galar are the ones with the best support teams.

The advantage to having a team, instead of just working alone, is that you can have a lot more pokemon on a 'regular' team. And they belong to the group, not just the captain. This allows more flexibility, but as Ash points out to the team, it also means you can’t form as close a bond as more traditional trainers would. (This is potentially the reason why Pikachu can gigantamax safely without a dynamax band - because they have such a close bond)

The team we follow in this series is Team Eight - the eighth team for this year's league.

It's quite a large team, made up of seven team members in total:

The Captain, Victor. Our player character, and essentially the Gary of the series. He’s a natural when it comes to pokemon battle, charming and likeable, but confident to the point of being arrogant. His character arc is learning that natural talent won’t get him by forever, and he needs his team to make it to the top. (Friendship hooray!)

Active Trainer Hop. The current champion’s little brother, Hop was supposed to have so much promise. He was great with pokemon as a kid—they all love him—and Leon had so much faith in his baby brother. But on the battlefield, Hop is average at best. He’s nowhere near Victor’s talent, let alone as amazing as everyone expected. His character arc is learning not to stand in others’ shadows, and to believe in his own quieter power.

Active Trainer Gloria. Our female player character, and a very loud, slightly violent young woman. She’s actually the strongest battler of the team, but is also incredibly lazy when it comes to training. She’s not that interested in the league, mostly using the challenge as a chance to see and explore the world. Throughout the journey, she becomes a protector, often standing with Ash while Victor and Hop run off to gather artefacts or whatever, and discovers her true passion is as a bodyguard and organiser.

Groomer Goh. A blatant attempt to reengage children with Pokemon Go, Goh’s passion is collecting pokemon for the team to use. His goal is to catch one of every kind of pokemon, so that no matter the situation, he will always have the right ‘tool’ to hand. When his pokemon aren’t being used by active trainers, he farms them out to gyms and jobs, earning cash for the team. His arc is learning that pokemon are friends, not tools. (Pet safety, hooray!)

Medic Chloe. Originally just tagging along with Goh because someone needs to keep her childhood friend in line, Chloe discovers a love of cooking and medicine, discovering that she enjoys watching pokemon grow and become stronger.

Coach Kiran. A Dark-Type Trainer with a bad attitude, but a heart of gold. He’s normally a field agent of Chairman Rose’s security division, and it’s a requirement that all agents do at least one season of coaching duty as a kind of community service. He hates it. He brought Ash on to essentially do his job for him, but since Ash doesn’t really know how Galar works, he still has to lead the way and provide exposition. His arc is learning the limits of how far he’s willing to go to protect ‘the good of all’, and that kids aren’t that bad, really.

Assistant Coach Ash. He signed on because he wanted to see Galar, and learn about the different league, but he’s actually really enjoying helping Team Eight discover who they want to be. He battles with the active trainers, accompanies the support team on their trips, and generally enables their journeys. He forms bonds with some of Goh’s pokemon, who eventually become known as 'his' pokemon despite the fact they belong to the team.

Team Eight were supposed to be the real up and comers, but Hop’s lack of skill in a very public moment made them seem very unimpressive, and now no one really expects anything of them. Of course, they work their way up through the ranks, meeting rivals and defeating gym battles, until Victor can eventually challenge Leon.

The idea was that it was going to retain Sun and Moon's group dynamic, fade Ash out of the spotlight while maintaining his status and strength, and make a bit more out of Galar's story. Also play with Leon's relationship with Hop because you know I'm a sucker for family relationships.

But yeah. I'll leave it there for now. Hope it didn't disappoint!

#pokeani #LeDiz writes an AU #anon ask

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oldfacesnewdawnoffical · 1 year

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Is Sand a badass? How’s her relationship to the other cats of her generation?

Oh, of course! I have a lot planned for Sand; even if my dearest Rust is the primary protagonist and the first arc’s sole POV character, Sand is a runner-up. The most impactful deuteragonist I’ve ever written <3

She’s the eldest of the current four wards, and due to her status as the daughter of the liaison, plus being trained by the orator herself, she considers herself to be somewhat “above” the other three. She feels the constant need to prove herself as the best, better than the best, surpassing everyone else of her generation and landing her favorably in the eyes of her own faction and across the fealty. She wants to be respected, feared, and awed. Considering she’s still a young cat with more pride than water in her body, though, she’s got a bit of a ways left to go…

Due to their similar outlooks, she and Jackdaw have formed a healthy rivalry with one another. It’s not quite a friendship, but they’ll hang out on occasion and mutually trash talk each other - much to the frustration of their mentors. But they’re decently friendly.

Sand is the complete opposite with Raven, however. She senses how Jackdaw dislikes them, and amped it up. She’s a relentless bully towards Raven, a nasty habit that Mottledtail is desperately trying to curb for the sake of his daughter and ward both, but she doesn’t see it as bullying. She just wants to make sure that Raven knows his place, especially when standing next to her.

And Bear… she hasn’t had a whole lot of time to make an opinion of him yet, considering that he has just been named. She thinks he’s annoying, but hopes that he’ll grow out of it as he sheds his kit fluff.

#old faces new dawn #ask #nightly-ruse #character relations #warrior cats rewrite #warriors rewrite #ofnd: sand #sandstorm

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a-tale-of-legends · 2 years

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Hi there! Hope all is well! Since you're in a Kanto Trio mood, I had a question about the Legendverse Kanto Trio. What role if any do they play in the Chosen storyline (were they chosen by the legendary birds or are they uh...un-chosen lol)

Heya!

At the moment, the most that the Kanto trio do in terms of plot is be the mentor figured for others. Blue and Green acted as such during the hgss arc for Kenji, Aiko and Beryl( though, with Beryl being closer to their age, it was more of them helping Beryl handle two energetic ten year olds lol). During SM, Red and Blue end up being uncles to Amsonia. For now, anyway. With the revised plot of SM, I have a feeling their dynamic with Alola is much more different than the base games. But, if nothing much changes, Blue still helps Amsonia realize her self worth as a person, given her reliance on being Lillie and Hau's protector was all she really focused on. Who is she decides that isn't something she ever thought about. Also Green tool Lillie under her wing while she was in Kanto, hence why Lillie currently looks the way she does ( as in Green encouraged Lillie to be true to herself and do what she wanted, which involved cutting hair and getting a tiny bit more edgy lol)

As for Chosen stuff, I am ( say it with me) torn. Red especially. Do I want him to be just a guy with superpowers, literally, authentically Just A Guy ( who is super famous but that's besides the point). The same goes. Blue and Green. I think the problem comes from the legendaries in Kanto. The legendary birds are fun and would be a good match, but with the nature of Chosens in the beginning of the timeline ( where it was very much a "Chosen since birth" scenario),the only legendary that would fit is Mew. And it again falls back to the whole do I want Red to be Just A Guy compared to every other protagonist or not. Chosen! Red with Mew would be cool ngl. Chosen! Green with Mewtwo would also be cool. I don't want Blue to be left out, and of the three birds, I'd say either Zapdos or Moltres fits him best. ( The original, the remix and birb hgvhvgvgvcg). And again, like you mentioned. Three legendary birds for each Kanto trio. So many options!

That being said, with TLH actually becoming part of the main timeline, it makes sense for the Kanto Trio to get involved one way or another. I doubt they would join TLH, given their experience with evil teams. Even more so if RR is under TLH's control ( still debating on that).

So tdlr, the Kanto Trio right now are more mentor figures than anything, and are currently living their best lives. Not sure if I would make them Chosens or not, cause I can see a case for both, but they are going to be more involved as a flesh out the TLH plotline.

Oh, and Blue and Jin have beef. Not real beef,they just like messing with each other, since they both became champions around the same time.

#legendverse #legendverse! kanto trio #thanks for the ask!#r answers

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nasa · 3 years

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NASA Spotlight: Earth Climate Scientist Dr. Yolanda Shea

Dr. Yolanda Shea is a climate scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center. She’s the project scientist for the CLARREO Pathfinder (CPF) mission, which is an instrument that will launch to the International Space Station to measure sunlight reflected from Earth. It will help us understand how much heat is being trapped by our planet’s atmosphere. Her mission is designed to help us get a clearer picture than we currently have of the Earth’s system and how it is changing

Yolanda took time from studying our home planet to answer questions about her life and career! Get to know this Earth scientist:

What inspired you to study climate science?

Starting in early middle school I became interested in the explanations behind the weather maps and satellite images shown on TV. I liked how the meteorologists talked about the temperature, moisture, and winds at different heights in the atmosphere, and then put that together to form the story of our weather forecasts. This made me want to learn more about Earth science, so I went to college to explore this interest more.

The summer after my junior year of college, I had an internship during which my first assignment was to work with a program that estimated ocean currents from satellite measurements. I was fascinated in the fact that scientists had discovered a way to map ocean currents from space!

Although I had learned about Earth remote sensing in my classes, this was my first taste of working with, and understanding the details of, how we could learn more about different aspects of the physical world from satellite measurements.

This led to my learning about other ways we can learn about Earth from space, and that includes rigorous climate monitoring, which is the area I work in now.

What does a day in your life look like?

Before I start my workday, I like to take a few minutes to eat breakfast, knit (I’m loving sock knitting right now!), and listen to a podcast or audio book. Each workday really looks different for me, but regardless, most days are a combination of quieter moments that I can use for individual work and more interactive times when I’m interfacing with colleagues and talking about project or science issues. Both types of work are fun in different ways, but I’m glad I have a mixture because all researchers need that combination of deep thinking to wrap our minds around complex problems and also time to tackle those problems with others and work on solving them together.

When do you feel most connected to Earth?

I’ve always loved sunsets. I find them peaceful and beautiful, and I love how each one is unique. They are also a beautiful reminder of the versatility of reflected light, which I study. Sitting for a moment to appreciate the beauty and calm I feel during a sunset helps me feel connected to Earth.

What will your mission – CLARREO Pathfinder – tell us about Earth?

CLARREO Pathfinder (CPF) includes an instrument that will take measurements from the International Space Station and will measure reflected sunlight from Earth. One of its goals is to demonstrate that it can take measurements with high enough accuracy so that, if we have such measurements over long periods of time, like several decades, we could detect changes in Earth’s climate system. The CPF instrument will do this with higher accuracy than previous satellite instruments we’ve designed, and these measurements can be used to improve the accuracy of other satellite instruments.

How, if at all, has your worldview changed as a result of your work in climate science?

The longer I work in climate science and learn from the data about how humans have impacted our planet, the more I appreciate the fragility of our one and only home, and the more I want to take care of it.

What advice would you give your younger self?

It’s ok to not have everything figured out at every step of your career journey. Work hard, do your best, and enjoy the journey as it unfolds. You’ll inevitably have some surprises along the way, and regardless of whether they are welcome or not, you’re guaranteed to learn something.

Do you have a favorite metaphor or analogy that you use to describe what you do, and its impact, to those outside of the scientific community?

I see jigsaw puzzles as a good illustration of how different members of a science community play a diverse set of roles to work through different problems. Each member is often working on their own image within the greater puzzle, and although it might take them years of work to see their part of the picture come together, each image in the greater puzzle is essential to completing the whole thing. During my career, I’ll work on a section of the puzzle, and I hope to connect my section to others nearby, but we may not finish the whole puzzle. That’s ok, however, because we’ll hand over the work that we’ve accomplished to the next generation of scientists, and they will keep working to bring the picture to light. This is how I try to think about my role in climate science – I hope to contribute to the field in some way; the best thing about what I have done and what I will do, is that someone else will be able to build on my work and keep helping humanity come to a better understanding of our Earth system.

What is a course that you think should be part of required school curriculum?

Time and project management skills – I think students tend to learn these skills more organically from their parents and teachers, but in my experience I stumbled along and learned these skills through trial and error. To successfully balance all the different projects that I support now, I have to be organized and disciplined, and I need to have clear plans mapped out, so I have some idea of what’s coming and where my attention needs to be focused.

Another course not specifically related to my field is personal financial management. I was interested in personal finance, and that helped me to seek out information (mainly through various blogs) about how to be responsible with my home finances. There is a lot of information out there, but making sure that students have a solid foundation and know what questions to ask early on will set them to for success (and hopefully fewer mistakes) later on.

What’s the most unexpected time or place that your expertise in climate science and/or algorithms came in handy?

I think an interesting part of being an atmospheric scientist and a known sky-watcher is that I get to notice beautiful moments in the sky. I remember being on a trip with friends and I looked up (as I usually do), and I was gifted with a gorgeous sundog and halo arc. It was such a beautiful moment, and because I noticed it, my friends got to enjoy it too.

Can you share a photo or image from a memorable NASA project you’ve worked on, and tell us a little bit about why the project stood out to you?

I absolutely loved being on the PBS Kids TV Show, SciGirls for their episode SkyGirls! This featured a NASA program called Students’ Clouds Observations On-Line (S’COOL). It was a citizen science program where students from around the globe could take observations of clouds from the ground that coincided with satellite overpasses, and the intention was to help scientists validate (or check) the accuracy of the code they use to detect clouds from satellite measurements. I grew up watching educational programming from PBS, so it was an honor to be a science mentor on a TV show that I knew would reach children across the nation who might be interested in different STEM fields. In this photo, the three young women I worked with on the show and I are talking about the different types of clouds.

To stay up to date on Yolanda's mission and everything going on in NASA Earth science, be sure to follow NASA Earth on Twitter and Facebook.

🌎 If you're looking for Earth Day plans, we have live events, Q&As, scavenger hunts and more going on through April 24. Get the details and register for our events HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

#Earth #Earth Day #earth science #NASA #climate #weather #atmosphere #space #international space station #STEM #women in STEM #awesome women #climate change #home planet #earth love

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villainsandvictimsalliance · 2 years

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Regarding Toshinori calling Dabi "insane", I just want to add that I loved Horikoshi adding that detail. Why?

Because the hero system hasn't change!

Yes, we got some emotional moments after Ochako's speech, we got Stain talking to Toshinori, we got the consequences of the War, but the problem runs deep.

Toga is "crazy".

Dabi is "insane".

Tomura is "a child".

They're the representation of how society would break you and then made everyone go against you because "you're not will in the head". They're the main three villains.

Older pro-heroes have been more exposed to the manipulations of the hero society. They are used to looking the other side with situations like the Endeavor one. And it's not coincidence that Horikoshi showed us again how much All Might's existence has hurt Tomura, just when the narrative of the villains being crazy is brought back.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but Toshinori doesn't know about Deku's speech to the Vestiges. I think he says that he felt Deku's resolution, but because he isn't dead yet, he couldn't be there with the vestiges, just generally feel it. In that case, Toshinori could not know what Deku is planning to do.

I want to remind everyone that we got a whole panel of Deku telling All Might he was as powerful at him in his best days. And that panel ended up with Deku going away and leaving All Might behind.

Deku is already as great as All Might. Now he's currently surpassing him by doing something All Might couldn't do: saving Tenko Shimura.

What does it matter when we talk about Dabi? Because the narrative told us the UA kids are becoming the greatest heroes. They all are going to push pass the old generations and they what they are incapable of doing.

Ochako stole the megaphone (the voice) from Present Mic to declare her intentions. Shouto saved Endeavor from dying in the War arc because Endeavor froze while facing Touya. Tokoyami had to rescue Hawks from Dabi, Momo completed the operation Midnight was leading against Gigantomachia, Deku was the one who protected everyone by facing AFO.

These kids are already more.

So while the oldest generation is still focused on eradicating the villains but not the problem (see Aizawa saying it's time for revenge andfor example), the UA kids now that if they don't fix the problem, nothing will change. There'll be another Dabi, just like Shouto almost turned to one. There'll be another Toga, another Tomura, another Spinner, another Kurogiri.

The revelation of the UA traitor came with the idea that pro-heroes are still not seeing villains as victims. So what Horikoshi did was putting a villain right among the UA kids. And what know? Is she crazy too? They lived with her all this time. They laughed with her, she's their friend, their student. Are they going to push her aside just like society pushed aside all the other villains? Are they going to try and kill her?

And that goes deeper. Didn't they help Iida when he went after Stain? Didn't they help Bakugou? Didn't they went for Midoriya went he left UA? And didn't Deku prevent Shouto becoming something like Endeavor?

We're back on Toga's question: why should the heroes decide who should be saved and who shouldn't? How do they do that?

Why Endeavor deserves to live but not Touya? Why Dabi is the "insane" one and not Endeavor, who abused his family for 25 years?

And because so much has happened, now the kids don't have the pressure to be like their teachers or past idols. Now they can identify when their mentors are wrong, now they can make their own decisions, their own futures. This goes back to Deku refusing to believe he couldn't be a hero because he didn't have a quirk. This goes back to the kids choosing to rescue Bakugou while not trusting the pro-heroes (and ultimately helping All Might win the fight by taking Bakugou out of there). This goes back to the kids defeating Stain and changing the future Nighteye had seen, to them refusing to stay back, to their desire to be heroes not matter what others say.

If the old pro-heroes think Toga, Tomura and Dabi are insane, why can the kids decide on their own if they agree with them or not?

This is all connected because it's the building of the final arc. Let's not forget it.

#Shan's mha opinions #Shan's bnha opinions #bnha #mha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #Mha spoilers #Bnha spoilers #Mha 335 #Bnha 335

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the-lone-witch-and-secret-room · 3 years

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The Owl House and pacing, a perspective from a fanfic writer that works with a large cast

I’ve seen a bunch of complains about the way The Owl House is paced lately. People claiming that it’s bad writing, and rushed, and whatnot. But from how I see it, you’re complaining for all the wrong reasons, and to the wrong people.

TL;DR: this is an overlaying issue with Disney and the industry that doesn’t allow long shows anymore, essentially forcing writers to pick between good pacing and complex stories being told with large casts.

For context: the fandom I wrote for before I got into The Owl House had a pretty small main cast. There were a few reoccurring characters, but most of them only showed up like five total times over the course of four seasons or had little personality, so my main cast I was writing about always consisted of my main five characters, with occasional cameos here and there. All characters were living together and experienced the adventure from the same perspective. There was one overarching storyline and not multiple. The interpersonal relationships still varied, though, for obvious reasons.

Now think about how large The Owl House cast is, and why that’d send them running into issues. Or don’t, because I have a whole-ass in depth analysis under the cut because this got unreasonably long.

(Also I’d appreciate a reblog, I spent… an unreasonable amount of time on this, lol)

The Owl House is different. There’s the main characters: Luz, Eda, King, maybe Hooty, technically (someone recently pointed out that he’s technically the titular character of the show and I’m still processing that, lol).

But they also have a HUGE additional cast to work with. There’s Lilith, Eda’s sister, and the main antagonist of season one, who has a lot to her character and gets a ton of screen time. There’s Amity, and there’s Willow and Gus, Luz’s friends. They’re all very fleshed out characters, and got a bunch of screen time and development, despite “only” being reoccurring characters and not the main characters.

Then there’s characters that have played a fairly minor role so far. There’s Belos, the big bad villain, who we will likely learn a lot more about this season. There’s the Golden Guard, the new main antagonist our cast deals with personally, who we’re just starting to learn more about. There’s Camila, Luz’s mom, who, despite only showing up a couple of times in the show so far, is very relevant to Luz and how the plot will ultimately turn out. There’s Edric and Emira, Amity’s siblings, who despite only showing up a few times as well seem to have a very worked out personality and background and also have a story that is (at least to some extent) going to be told according to the AMA.

There is at least one more seemingly important character whose role in the bigger story is hard to tell at this point, Raine, but according to the description of the episode, they’re probably going to influence the story a bunch.

There’s Alador and Odalia, who are responsible for a lot of their children’s toxic behaviors, and seem to have bigger plans that will probably be relevant later on.

The characters that are only focused on for an episode or two (like Matt and the troublemaker kids) all have very worked out personalities and even short arcs.

And heck, even characters like Boscha, who is extremely minor and seems like a very one-dimensional bully for the most part, get their moments that hint at there being more to them. We know Boscha has a clingy mom, that apparently has a rivalry with Odalia and works with Amity’s parents. The scene at the beginning of Wing It Like Witches tells us a lot about her general mindset and how she’s embraced that winning at whatever cost is the only thing that matters.

This leaves us with: 3-4 main characters

3 friends with fleshed out stories

Lilith, who is probably the most relevant aside from the main cast

Belos, the main antagonist, and the Golden Guard, currently starting to become a lot more relevant

A whole handful of minor reoccurring characters that have the potential to become bigger characters at any point in time

A handful of minor reoccurring characters that mainly seem to be there to further the story, but still get to have distinctive personalities and motivations (looking p.e. at the troublemaker kids)

That is AT LEAST 9 pretty major, relevant characters whose stories have to be tackled in the same show, in addition to the people that joined in season two and a huge supporting cast of well-developed characters that clearly also have stories of their own, even if not all of them will get told.

On top of that, the Owl House lives from exploring different relationships and different storylines. There’s the overarching story of how flawed the system is that will likely end with them overthrowing Belos, but there’s so much more.

Eda and the curse. Eda becoming a better mentor for Luz. Eda coming to terms with the loss of her magic.

Luz learning to cast magic with glyphs. Making friends for the first time. Slowly falling in love with Amity. Fighting to be able to learn whatever kind of magic she wants to. Learning that she’s not a burden to people. Struggling with her relationship with her mom, and trying to restore the portal so she can get back to her. Figuring out her future and what she really wants.

Lilith trying to cure Eda, and now in season two coming to terms with the loss of her magic and fixing her relationship with her sister. Lilith learning to ask for help.

Willow switching tracks. Willow growing more confident.

Amity becoming a better person, fixing her relationship with Willow, standing up to her parents, falling in love with Luz. Starting to fix her relationship with her siblings.

King finding out where he came from.

Hints at Gus struggling with decision making and stressing himself out less. Gus learning to be more selfless. Struggling with his magic track and being the youngest in his grade.

The newly introduced plot point with the Golden Guard. The plot point about the rebellion that will get introduced next episode.

The mystery with the letters.

And I’m like 90% sure I’ve forgotten something.

That is… a lot of different plots and relationships that are in some way important to the story.

In comparison, as stated, the last show I wrote for focused mostly on the same five characters and their relationships with each other, and one overarching plotline aside from some minor interpersonal relationships with two people’s family members that weren’t even introduced for several seasons. The first season fully focused on establishing the bond within this found family with exactly 1 important reoccurring character, an antagonist that had little personality and got a total of one line of backstory before he died.

If you have 90% of a season to develop 5 characters who live together, that’s a lot easier to do than developing twice the amount of important characters + introducing reoccurring characters season one of The Owl House has—the majority of which have separate lives and do not live together and thus can’t be focused on at the same time.

I’ve seen a bunch of people complain recently that the pacing of The Owl House is off, that the writing is bad, that the show is rushed, etc. etc.

And I get those complains. Believe me, as a viewer and also as an author that takes a lot of time to develop each character and their issues individually, I 100% get it.

But as an author that’s currently learning how hard it is to tackle a cast of the size that The Owl House has, I’ve also come to a whole different understanding from the perspective of the writers on the show.

For context, Locked Out focuses on a couple of serious themes, in the same way that the show does. It has 4 main plotlines: Amity Camila and Luz, Edric and Emira, Eda and Lilith, Willow and the Grudgby Squad (as well as a Gus arc that ties into the last one while also being its own thing, we’re getting to that part). So far, it prominently features: Luz, Amity, Camila, Eda, Emira, Edric, Willow and Gus, and to a lesser extent King, Lilith and Boscha, Skara and Amelia in relation to the separate plots.

That’s eight main characters across five different households. And then there’s the reoccurring characters that will have a larger role later on that I’ve not even had the opportunity to bring into the story yet/feature in a more prominent way. The cast is still growing.

And heck, I have all the time in the world to write this thing, because I don’t have an episode limit, or a deadline, or a limited amount of money to produce it.

For Locked Out, it took me 120k to get through a single week of plot at a very high level of character development, with about as many important characters as TOH has in season 1, and with an equally high number of reoccurring characters, some minor, some major. I think you can compare it to the show pretty well. I’d say, if I were to split Locked Out into episodes, I’d set one episode at about 10k. That would be 12 episodes. 12 episodes to get through a single week. Heck, even if I said 20k words were to be one episode, which I’m pretty sure is too much realistically, that would still be 6 episodes for one week.

And TOH covers more than three months.

That would be at least 72 total episodes to get through the three months of summer camp. And we’re currently progressing past that point.

72 episodes.

Let that sit for a while o.o

Everything that’s happened in season one (which as we know now was about 2 months) would have happened in 48 episodes rather than 19. Pacing-wise, everything would happen at less than 0.5x the speed. The first four episodes of season two would’ve been 24 episodes, assuming we hadn’t skipped a week and a half and had instead shown the immediate aftermath of the petrification ceremony, too.

And I’d love if we could have that, and if we could actually develop the characters and their relationships that thoroughly.

But the sad fact is that shows like The Owl House do not get the amount of episodes that would be required to develop every single aspect of the show to its fullest potential. Disney rarely greenlits shows of 150 episodes anymore. They used to, once, (Phineas&Ferb for example had 130+ episodes—you could tell one hell of a story in that many episodes), but that’s not a thing anymore. And the writers know that going into a show. They know the chances their story will be told in that way are very low.

And thus, the writers, especially ones working with large casts, have to make a choice: cut characters they love, and plots that are important to them, because they know they won’t get the amount of episodes required to do everything perfectly, OR include most of what they want to do, but at the cost of the pacing being off and everything seemingly happening too fast.

The Owl House crew went with the second option. The biggest issue the show has isn’t bad writing. The show’s biggest issue is that its cast and the story the crew members want to tell are too big for the amount of episodes they’ve been given (especially now that Disney decided to cut season 3 down into just three 44 minute specials).

And that’s on Disney, and Disney alone.

The crew is making the most of the amount of episodes they have, and unfortunately the lack of time forces them to rush things, and to sometimes sideline characters to focus on others.

Lilith got a bunch of screen time in the first four episodes. I’m sad to see her go, but she’s basically guaranteed to be back by season 2B. And there’s other people that have gotten way less focus than her so far. We‘ve seen basically nothing of Willow and Gus for the first few episodes, and I’m super happy Gus finally got some focus! We haven’t been inside Hexside all season except to see Luz expelled! And episode seven is even going to introduce a new character. Sometimes there’s parts of the story that certain characters don’t have a place in. And it sucks if they’re characters you like. But Lilith has to go for a bit so other characters can get the same amount of spotlight she did. At the end of the day, Lilith is not part of the main cast. She’s a very important reoccurring character, yes, but so are Amity, Willow and Gus. The main characters are Eda, Luz and King, and they’re the only ones that will always be around. And heck, even Eda got sidelined for a bit in the last two episodes, because we needed to focus on other characters. If not even the main characters are always around because we need some spotlight time for other characters, you can’t expect any more minor reoccurring cast member to be.

God, I wish they’d be given more time and more episodes to bring every part of the plot to its full potential, but they don’t have those, so they sometimes have to take shortcuts that unfortunately cheapen the story here and there. It’s the only way they can hope to tell their story to the end at all. And that makes me hella sad because it’s so obvious that they have an incredible story to tell, and that there’s so much more to so many of the characters we just don’t have the time to focus on.

The thing is: I liked the episode with Gwendolyn. It sends an important message that will hopefully get some parents who watch with their children thinking, and I’ve seen a couple of people talk about how close to home it hit for them. I have also seen a couple of people complain about that being too fast—and also just in general about things in the show getting sorted out too fast. And I get it. At least with this particular episode, I 100% get it.

(I’ve also seen some people complain that “Amity stood up to her parents too fast in Escaping Expulsion”, but I vehemently disagree with that. We’ve been building towards that moment since season one, with her doing more and more things that were technically defying her parents. I don’t see how this was rushed.)

Just… please don’t blame the writers. Dana even said that Keeping Up A-Fearances is one of the episodes that hit very close to home for her in the recent stream iirc? So I highly doubt this was rushed on purpose, or because the whole thing is “bad writing” when the entire writing quality of the show says otherwise.

A lot of shows in general have the issue that they have to be written season by season rather than as a full story these days, because there’s always a chance that they won’t get a next season. How large scale the story they want to tell actually is doesn’t matter if there’s a solid chance they won’t get to do any of it.

From a viewer perspective, I get being frustrated at the pacing being off. But from a writer perspective, the chances are very high that this is a choice they had to make, rather than one they wanted to make. And I don’t think you can truly see this if you’ve never worked with a fleshed out cast that large—Locked Out was really eye-opening for me in that regard.

This isn’t simply a case of bad writing/bad pacing by choice. It’s forced. They’re forced to rush through their plots because otherwise they won’t get the chance to tell certain parts of the story at all. And the saddest thing about this is really that those 72+ episodes to flesh out these plot points further wouldn’t have been an impossible thing to get, at a time.

Go for Disney’s head. Yell at the industry for being what it is today, for constantly axing shows before even giving them a real chance. But this isn’t on the crew.

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makeste · 3 years

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So, which of these desperately sobbing children gets to compete for Worst Day? I... think Shouto's our, uh, lucky winner, but I think Deku, Momo, and Tokoyami all put up strong fights

so seeing as we are finally approaching New Chapter Times again after a very long three weeks, this feels like a good time to do a recap of just how much everything currently sucks for our intrepid heroes. it may seem a bit insensitive of me to go through the cast list one by one and arbitrarily assign each character a number score based on how shitty their day was, but... well actually I don’t really have a good defense for that, lol. whatever, let’s just get to ranking these children’s misery (and while we’re at it, some of the adults’ as well).

Midoriya Izuku

current status: unconscious. currently has a pair of those floppy inflatable flailing tube men dealios for arms. had to watch his teacher and his best friends get hurt and nearly die while being helpless to do anything to stop it. has a new quirk which “warns” him of approaching danger by giving him ice pick headaches, as if he didn’t have enough pain in his life as it is. is being targeted by the most dangerous person in the world. and last but not least, is probably on the verge of his super-secret quirk becoming not-so-secret, and having to deal with the fallout of that.

rank: 9/10. hard to imagine how things could get much worse for this little guy atm. NO HORIKOSHI THAT IS NOT A CHALLENGE. YOU LEAVE HIS MENTOR ALONE.

Bakugou Katsuki

current status: unconscious. got impaled by the Big Bad which initially did not look good, but apparently it wasn’t enough to stop him from flying around in drunken loop-de-loops whilst ignoring Iida’s protests, so who knows. proudly announced his new hero name to the world only to be met with scorn and ridicule and hysterical laughter from that fucking Caillou-looking motherfucker whose opinion he never mcfucking asked for, thank you very much. and also his best friend’s self-sacrificing tendencies are giving him anxiety, and his other best friend’s brother just pulled a reverse Darth Vader on Endeavor and upended hero society as we know it. so there’s a good chance he might be called upon to provide emotional support to one or even BOTH of them in the near future. has... has he actually become the stable friend in the trio. fuck.

rank: 7/10 just because he briefly appeared to be in a situationally-inappropriate good mood for those few brief minutes right after Jeanist appeared. you were having too much fun to get a top score, Katsuki.

Todoroki Shouto

current status: not unconscious but probably wishing he was. older brother came back from the dead and revealed that he was a mass murderer and broadcast all of Shouto’s personal traumas to the entire world before earnestly trying to set him and his friends on fire. so is currently dealing with all of the fun fallout from that, on top of watching his teacher and friends all come within inches of death. will probably be dragged into a national controversy against his will now that Endeavor’s past has been revealed. all of it is honestly so shitty that it’s all but impossible for me to put an irreverent spin on this. I honestly can’t think of a single joke to make. goddammit Shouto.

rank: 10/10. a perfect storm of shittiness.

Yaoyorozu Momo

current status: somehow Momo went from having no mentors that we knew of, to having two mentors, and then back to having no mentors, all in the span of a single day. has to be some sort of record.

rank: 8/10. and the worst part of all is that she was a fucking BAMF during this arc, but she can’t even enjoy that now because of all the trauma. I’m still proud of you, Momo.

Uraraka Ochako

current status: mentally and physically exhausted after spending a day out on the front lines dealing with the aftermath of an unnatural disaster. saw things that were canonically enough to make a grown man have a nervous breakdown right then and there. had a really weird and unsettling encounter with Toga who keeps trying to relate to her by telling her things like “hey Ochako, this one time I turned into you and used your quirk to murder someone horribly isn’t that wild.” it’s just been a very long day for her.

rank: 6/10. stressful af but she’s still in one piece and no one was actively murdered in front of her. sometimes you gotta take whatever wins you can get.

Tokoyami Fumikage

current status: his mentor was nearly burned to death in front of him and he was almost burned to death too, and the guy who kept attempting to burn him was all “YOUR MENTOR’S A MURDERER BTW AND SO YOU SHOULD JUST LET ME KILL HIM”, and so he was kind of put on the spot there and he didn’t really know what to do, and somehow he managed to escape with Hawks anyway but Hawks’s wings were all burnt off, and then a fucking video of Hawks stabbing Twice in the back got broadcast to the entire nation and so it’s like, ???? he didn’t sign up for this??? he is just a little birb??? can he live????

rank: 7/10 because he missed out on all of the other traumatizing stuff, but it’s honestly impressive how bad his day managed to be even in spite of that.

All for One

current status: All for One’s day is actually going pretty good.

rank: 0/10. hey but fuck you, AFO.

Shigaraki Tomura

current status: woke up early from his nap which always sucks. only got to enjoy his cool new Transcendent Being powers for a few minutes before the heroes all ganged up on him and incinerated him a bunch of times and fucked up his shiny new cape. has his old mentor currently taking up residence in his head uninvited and trying to boss him around. found out his grandma was part of One for All?? then slept through all of the fun stuff with the Dabi reveal. also a bunch of his friends are either dead or captured. all in all was not really the best day for him.

rank: 8/10 because he was having himself a grand old time for a while there, but once some of this stuff finally sinks in the Suck Factor is going to go way, way up. also, seriously, AFO is currently possessing his body, jesus christ. just leave him alone already.

Hawks

current status: had to make an impossible choice between sitting back and letting an untold number of people die, and turning on a good but misguided man who was only trying to help his friends. has to live with the trauma of literally stabbing his friend in the back for the rest of his life. may have been rendered effectively quirkless. was publicly dragged through the mud alongside Endeavor, and unlike Endeavor he didn’t actually do anything to earn it (though that probably won’t stop him from feeling like he has). oh and speaking of Endeavor, just found out that the hero he looked up to since childhood abused his family and shit, and so now he has to grapple with that on top of everything else. how fucked is it that the minute he finally got to drop his whole double agent balancing act, his life somehow got even more fucked up and complicated.

rank: 9/10. let Hawks rest.

Aizawa Shouta

current status: unconscious. seems to have lost an eye which may possibly affect his quirk. had to saw off his own fucking leg. met the man who experimented on his childhood friend. doesn’t know yet that said man was originally targeting him and not Shirakumo. oh and also his other other childhood friend just died and he doesn’t know it yet. and someone else sacrificed himself in order to save him. and most of his other hero pals are either dead or wounded too, and all of his kids are deeply traumatized. and the guy they went through all of this shit to try and capture in the first place got away, and hero society is now in shambles.

rank: 11/10. Horikoshi. wtf did Aizawa ever do to you.

anyways it’s getting late and I was gonna throw in a few honorable mentions, but I think I’ll just call it a day instead. feel free to weigh in on any of the ones I missed. Dabi for one is having himself a FINE, fine day. but Endeavor not so much. sob.

#bnha 296 #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #asks #anon asks

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tempenensis · 3 years

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philosophy of “moving forward”

Human civilization as a whole is something that always changing. Culture as part of civilization construct adapts and evolves together with human who creates it. In the evolution of ancient to modern culture, believe in myth and words of mouth on the nature of unknown things changes gradually to studying them using science; in this science is the driving force of culture change and the old believe is the opposing force.

A subtle theme that slowly surfacing is the clash of old tradition to the new, more progressive thinking. Old tradition and rules are opposed and changes are happening gradually - and while it’s been bubbling for long, it's now culminated in one controversial life of Itadori Yuuji.

the old and rotting : the Great Three Families

One of main undertones during student fights in the Kyoto exchange goodwill arc is how old jujutsu tradition underlined to be contrasting with the more modern principles most Tokyo students follows. This especially prominent in the fights of Momo vs Kugisaki and Fushiguro vs Kamo, and secondary drive in Maki vs Mai.

In one of elite jujutsushi bloodline, the Zen’in family, perfection is a must. “Possessing inherited curse technique of Zen’in family”. Other than that, they are failure in starting life as jutsushi. Even among them, women are not allowed to stand in the starting line.

Looking at these alone, it implies on how old tradition put manifesting inherited technique among anything else and especially the discrimination towards women. It reflects the view in our real history, where women used to be banned from doing works and jobs considered masculine -- a view that has largely abandoned since women rights to be in the same level with men gained approval worldwide.

Momo’s saying this to Kugisaki is not wrong per se, since she herself probably experiences this; emphasizing Kugisaki’s naivety to old tradition that a lot of jujutsushi still largely follow. Kugisaki herself is also not in the wrong; she’s someone who puts her ego over everything - she has her own individualistic view that keeps her apart as her own person.

Another view of old tradition is the bloodline over everything else. It’s understandable if you consider the way they prized inherited technique over everything. To ensure that the inherited technique can manifest along the bloodline, one of the way is to keep the bloodline ‘pure’, to say. That’s why marriage among blood relation is probably the norm, even though the only clue of this is Naoya in the latest chapter, who considers which one of the twin is “good”, further emphasizing how little women is respected in this household.

Ironically in bloodline with a lot of inbreeding, it’s not the strength that is accumulated, but rather the weakness. For example, in Habsburg dynasty who used to rule Europe in the past, their long history of inbreeding caused their offspring to manifest a lot of genetic disorder - one of which is a physical disability named as their own, Habsburg jaw. Charles II of Spain was the most famous example of this. As a result of inbreeding along the Habsburg bloodline, Charles II inherited a lot of genetic disorders including the Habsburg jaw. He was even know as “the Bewitched” because of his appearance.

In line with this are Kamo Noritoshi and Fushiguro Megumi, who were born not out of inbreeding, but possessing the inherited technique of their respective clan. Noritoshi manifests Blood manipulation technique despite being a mistress’s son. While we don’t know Megumi’s mom, it is implied that she was a normal person since Touji had left the Zen’in and would be hard-pressed if he was to marry a woman from the same bloodline since he hated the clan. And I would not be surprised if Satoru is revealed actually to be a mistress son too in the future.

As if to condemn this believe, Heavenly Restriction sometimes manifest in these clan. Touji and Maki are bound with restriction of having reduced curse energy in exchange of superhuman strength. If you think about it, superhuman strength is actually way more effective weapon to be used in exorcising curse than innate curse technique that is usually simpler and weaker. All they need is some cursed tools to use. But of course, old tradition condemns them since barehanded, both Touji and Maki can’t exorcise curses.

Women being lesser than men, bloodline purity and inherited technique obsession, twins being bad omen, and the heavenly restriction being a viewed as a curse rather than a gift -- all of the believe that composed the old tradition is actually more harmful for the jujutsushi society as a whole. Theirs is an industry who is always chronically short-handed, so you would think that if there are more people available to do the job is better. But they don’t think so just because of outdated tradition. And Zenin Naoya is created as the poster child of it. He embodies everything old that Gojo Satoru discards and loathes.

education as driving force : Kyoto vs Tokyo

Back in vol 0, Getou calls Kyoto to be holy land of jujutsu and Shinjuku, Tokyo to be crucible of curses, where large number of curses can be found.

If we look over the history of these two places, it’s quite reasonable. Kyoto used to be the old capital of Japan, used to be named Heian. As we know, Heian period when Kyoto was designated as Japan capital is known as jujutsu golden age, when jujutsu developed rapidly, curses ran amok, and Sukuna trumped over everyone as the King of curses. We still don’t know where each of Great Families (Osanke) designated locations, but as the remaining of old capital, it is actually not surprising if the Osanke is located mainly in Kyoto, especially the Zen’in and Kamo. This also implies in Naoya speaking Kansai dialect and how Kyoto school shaped.

The influence of old tradition is prominent in Kyoto Jujutsu school. First, most of the students are somehow connected to jujutsu families. Noritoshi is Kamo clan’s heir. Mai is one of the Zen’in. Momo with her way of speaking seems also to be raised in a jujutsu family. Kokichi has Heavenly restriction which we know is inherited among children of jujutsu clan. Other than them, Toudou and Miwa seem to be not from jujutsu clan, but they are probably admitted because of influence of their mentors - and the two of them have different mindset compared to the rest of the students.

Second, when the Kyoto principal asked the students to kill Yuuji during exchange meetings, the four agreed to it readily since that’s how their custom dictates. Todo did not like that idea and Miwa is reluctant, but she still goes along. However she then apologizes to Tokyo students via Maki.

Contrasting to Kyoto school, the Tokyo school is a bit departed from old jujutsu custom. Most of the students are not affiliated with jujutsu families. Maki and Megumi does have Zen’in blood, but the two of them hate the clan and everything it represents. We still have not much information on Toge and Inumaki clan in general. This also applies to students in previous generation too. Nanami, Haibara, Getou; the three of them are not from jujutsu families. Gojou is from one of the Osanke, but he loathes their custom and tradition, which might be his main motivation to go to Tokyo school. Other than them, we still don’t know about Mei Mei, Shoko, and Utahime.

If I have to name one main characteristics that drive Tokyo school foundation is that they learn. Different from Kyoto whose philosophy influenced largely by traditional value set in stone, Tokyo school learns from mistake, learns how the era changes, learns how jujutsu changes so that they can be more humane, then develops to be an unique entity. This is largely due to Yaga’s influence.

But because of him (Itadori), there are certainly lives that was saved. In fact this time he cooperates with Todo to drive away the special-grade (curse spirit). This is not limited on the students, but after this they will accumulate a lot of regrets. Aah, I should have done that, I wanted it to be like this. Aah, I should have said it, I wanted to say it.

Whether the decision regarding Itadori is correct, truthfully I don’t know. But for now, how about we watch over him?

Yaga Masamichi is one great educator. Rather than binding them to the existing tradition, he let the students have their own view and act responsibly. This is the wisdom that build the foundation and general philosophy of Tokyo school. And his view influence Gojo, who used to be his student, in teaching the new generation. For example this; when he asks of Megumi’s opinion of what they should do with Yuuji. And because of it, they bends an existing law to let Yuuji alive; a very blatant opposition to old custom.

In addition, Gojo rather tends and teaches the new generation despite wants to kill the upper management; this might also largely because of Yaga’s influence. The two of them accumulate the same regret from the incident that makes Getou to stray and learn from it -- and that regret is what shapes the learning and teaching in Tokyo school in the current time.

While the two seemingly cut from the same clothes, Tokyo school can afford to be different from their Kyoto counterpart in their teaching because of several things. First is their location. As the capital was moved from Kyoto to Tokyo, Tokyo’s population grows. More human means more negative emotion, meaning the curses also evolved to be stronger. The reason why Getou called Shinjuku the crucible of curses is because Shinjuku is red-light district, where negative emotion is probably the strongest, making curses found there also stronger than any other place. As their enemy grows stronger, jujutsushi themselves also needs to be stronger than them to be able to exorcise them. In addition, the school is where Master Tengen planted his root so to speak, and they also need the strength to protect him too. They can’t afford old tradition to weaken and hold them back, so the Tokyo jujutsushi’s thinking start to depart from old custom. The second reason is because of Gojo; that in itself is self-explanatory.

All in all, education as a whole system is not only designed to merely giving knowledge, but also to give the young the necessities so they can develop into a proper member of society. Good education system adapts to the current era and relevant view on the development of society. In the real world, modern society aligns largely with science, so science and its philosophy are integrated as fundamental parts of modern education system. And character building is also important as part of the system -- for example being critical, to be curious and question things, is an important traits to have because human curiosity is what makes us study things we don’t understand and makes science develops in the first place -- subsequently modernize human society as a whole.

But of course, it’s all not without repercussion. Since old tradition still prevails and holds tightly by the authority, it’s no wonder that Tokyo school is now facing difficulty after the chaos that is Shibuya.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk meta #brain vomit #jjk manga spoilers

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sniper-childe · 3 years

Text

Hello! I’d like to share some of my notes if I were to Beta-read the most recent Archon Quest. I will be going through what worked, what could be taken out, and what could’ve been better. Note that I’m looking at this through an editor’s lens so I’m going to try NOT to change the plot we were given no matter what my opinions are about it BUT some of the said opinions may slip out.

Also, a bit of a disclaimer: I know that Genshin isn’t an actual literary work but miHoYo is known for its writers’ great storytelling and I’ve always loved their work so it really came as a surprise as to what happened to the mess that is Inazuma Act 3. So yeah.

Contains:

1. What was foreshadowed about the characters and why the payoff of their portrayals felt cheap.

a. About Kokomi and the rebellion.

b. About the Fatui, the James Bond villain wannabe.

c. About Ei and the Raiden Shogun.

2. How Chapter 2, Act 3 could have been the turning point that would have us, as the Traveler, cement our perceptions of the Archons and Gods of Celestia OR what I think the death of Signora was supposed to be but was undermined by this one tidbit.

BONUS: I wrote this before Kokomi’s story quest was released but decided to wait for it before posting. And guess what? I think Kokomi’s Story Quest works better as an Archon Quest. At least, some parts of it.

miHoYo teased us this intelligent leader of the resistance that is well-versed in the Art of War. The end of Ch2: Act 2 showed us a powerful Kokomi. So why was she sidelined all throughout the act?

I actually like the idea of the resistance asking the Fatui for aid. But miHoYo chickened out and made it so that they did it unknowingly. To which I say: how? If Kokomi was so smart she should’ve known better. I figured it was the Fatui within a single sentence, so why didn’t Kokomi?

They should’ve stuck with the concept of the underdogs – or in Kokomi’s words, the little fish – of war in an act of desperation. They could’ve shown a calculated Kokomi “making a deal with the devil” and will do anything to win the fight against the Shogunate.

In her Character Teaser, she was willing to burn the enemies’ supplies – to starve the enemy. She can be ruthless, that’s why Kokomi actively giving Delusions to her foot soldiers would have made much more sense to cause the Fatui to be involved rather than the whole “the Fatui orchestrated everything” schtick.

Which brings me to my next point: when did the Fatui turn into a James Bond villain? I hate that trope so much. It’s like the Deus Ex Machina of villainy. It’s lazy. And it doesn’t even fit the Fatui’s modus operandi.

In the prologue, the Abyss Order corrupted Dvalin and the Fatui was just there waiting to steal Barbatos’ gnosis while the Knights are distracted. Morax decided to retire one day so the Fatui swept right in and offered a test of Liyue in exchange for his gnosis.

The last two locations had their own story to tell while the Fatui was just in the background like the opportunistic antagonist that they are.

It also would have been a stronger plotline to have the already set lore – like the tenuous relationship between Watatsumi and Narukami – be the driving force of the Inazuman Civil War.

The prologue and chapter 1 also delivered what we are told we’re going to get in the Story Preview. That’s why they are satisfying. However, with chapter 2, the way it ended turned out to be more about the Fatui rather than “what do mortals see of the eternity chased after by their god.”

Sure, we got the consequences of the war in the World Quests and some of it in the second act. But making the Fatui the Big Bad in the end takes value away from the actions of the characters that are supposed to be the main feature of this chapter.

How much of the Eternity the Raiden Shogun is pursuing is directly from Ei? How much of it is its own understanding of eternity, coupled with Ei’s memories, and its own response? How much of it is the Fatui’s influence?

I have to say though, I’m fine with the puppet actually. Believe it or not. I have had kinda figured that out with the weird shifting of emotions in and out of the puppet. And the dead glowing eyes. So kudos to the design and animation team for that foreshadowing.

It was also said that the current Electro Archon lost someone dear to her and, while I didn’t think it was a twin, I did figure that the current Electro Archon wasn’t the real Electro Archon. So the whole Baal and Beelzebul backstory didn’t really surprise me. So I guess that was foreshadowed too? But my friends didn’t feel the same way so I don’t know. I’m not touching that.

But I do agree that all of the new lore got info-dumped to us by Yae rather than have us find out about them. To be honest, I would have wanted the backstory of Ei to be in her story quest rather than it be in the Archon Quest. A World Quest could work too.

I just feel like the 2.1 Archon Quest ended up cramming so many themes and subplots when it should’ve been focusing on what was promised: the darkness that is brought by their god.

They already had set up the Visions are people’s motivations/ambitions and that taking them away also takes away their agency.

Then they could’ve played with the idea of the people of Watatsumi looking up to Kokomi as their pseudo-god in-place of Orobashi and so with her actively giving Delusions could fit well in the said theme.

They could’ve made Ei and Kokomi character foils of each other and have the final showdown be about them.

And then it’ll all, of course, end up with the people of Inazuma learning how to work without their “gods” or something like that, which is the overarching theme of the whole series if you think about it.

But as I said, my opinions about the plot shouldn’t matter and I’m only here to make what was already written better.

So let’s talk about something that the puppet has done which didn’t make any sense on the surface level but could’ve been clever if it was done right. Killing La Signora.

Okay. So there is a pivotal moment at the end of the first arc of a three-act story where the main character experiences something that will leave them no choice but to move forward. This usually is a physical thing like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. But it can also be a mental or emotional situation.

Over at Honkai, the first arc ended with the death of a beloved mentor and a shattered world (both external and internal). The characters had no choice but to step up and “to stay alive, bravely” (yes, I won’t stop using this line ever). It was so very well done and even after so many years it still hurt no matter how many times you reread/rewatch the scene.

This reread value is what shows how much a twist is well written.

And that is what miHoYo is known for. So I had high expectations with the plot twist (technically this pivotal moment is called a plot twist because it twists the feel and/or pace of the story). Chapter 2 is the perfect spot to end the first act of a seven-chaptered story. So I’m really preparing myself for the inevitable twist.

But then we ended up with Signora’s death.

Okay. So. They could have used that to show us, as the traveler, how Archons and Celestial beings are unfeeling and not to be trusted. We were told this repeatedly by Dainsleiff and by the Abyss Twin. But it is only textbook writing 101 to show NOT tell.

And Signora’s death could have been this portrayal. Although, to be honest, it would have been more impactful if the one who died is a friend of the Traveler.

Them seeing someone die at the hands of an Archon could have their idea of gods shift. Because there is no turning back once you see the proof right in front of your eyes.

But instead, the puppet did it. So what was the point of Signora’s death if not just a power demonstration? We already knew that the Raiden Shogun is powerful. So why did Signora have to die?

Sure, one can argue that the puppet was enacting the Ei’s will so maybe there was a point. But! In Ei’s story quest, we were told that the puppet would have no hesitation when it comes to killing whereas Ei can show mercy.

Which begs, again, the question: how much of the Raiden Shogun’s actions is a reflection of Ei’s will, and how much of it is a logic response of an artificial intelligence from Ei’s memories?

Honestly? I don’t like that they killed off Signora. It doesn’t feel right. I would’ve taken Beidou’s death over Signora’s no matter how much I love Beidou. There was just no build-up to it and it feels weak. I… didn’t feel anything besides confusion. The anger only came later because of the wasted potential.

But overall, I do think they could’ve made it work if it were actually Ei doing the killing.

So I just did Kokomi’s Story Quest and man. The soldiers wanting to continue the war is what they really should have made the motivations of the actual war rather than have it as a post-war response and then have Kokomi fix their mess.

Seriously. While it was really interesting to see the usual trauma response of soldiers who had only known war their whole life, they wasted this idea, man.

Before doing the Archon Quest I had thought that the Watatsumi had a hand on the Vision Hunt Decree. Because if I were a tactician, I would have made something to anger the people of my enemies and have them have their internal issues. And while the Shogunate is weak, that’s when I will strike and claim Inazuma for my people and my god.

Then Orobashi will rise once more.

Yep.

Obviously, I really wanted Kokomi to be a more active character in the Archon Quest.

Anyways. If you reached the end, thank you for reading this ~1.5k words of musings. Tell me what you think. Or don’t. You do you.

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aspoonofsugar · 3 years

Note

What is your opinion about the Maidens in RWBY and their importance?

Hello anon!

I like the Maidens and especially how they explore two main ideas:

1) The concept of cycles and generations.

2) The trope of the chosen one.

THE CYCLE OF SEASONS

I think it is clear Ozpin created the Maidens partly because he wanted guardians and partly as a way to grieve his four daughters. He has symbolically dragged them into the cycle with him and Salem.

In a sense, the story keeps repeating. Salem kills Ozpin, he is reborn and his daughters are victims of the conflict between them.

Because of this, the four Maidens have become one of the many symbols of this endless cycle, which is clealry breaking its protagonists more and more.

This is well conveyed by the Maidens having a season theme. Seasons are in fact linked to the repetition of time aka one of Ozpin’s motifs:

At the same time, the idea of an older woman passing the torch to a younger one can be easily read as a metaphor for a mother-daughter dynamic. This is not always the case, but so far this interpretation is important for two of our four Maidens:

Penny receiving the Maiden’s powers from Fria is important on multiple levels and it plays on Penny alluding to Pinocchio. Fria (The Blue Fairy) recognizes Penny as a real girl, something she has been struggling with since the beginning:

Penny: Ruby... I'm not a real girl.

And is still struggling with:

Cinder: I don’t serve anyone. And you wouldn’t either, if you were built that way.

That said, Penny is not only struggling with enemies that consider her a robot, but also with the (understandable) overprotectiveness of people who love her:

Pietro: I lost you before. Are you asking me to go through that again? No. No. I want the chance to watch you live your life.

Penny: But dad… I am trying to.

She is not only a robot, who wants to prove she is a real girl, but also a daughter, who wants to grow into her own person.

This idea is made even stronger by Penny having been “created” through Pietro’s aura. She is a part of Pietro becoming someone completely different and independent from him. Still, isn’t it what all children are?

Raven is instead Penny’s opposite since she is not a daughter, but a mother. Not only that, but she is a mother, who fails three times.

She fails her biological daughter Yang by abandoning her and putting her in danger.

She fails Vernal, who dies for her.

She fails the previous Spring Maiden, who clearly looked up to her and was betrayed:

Cinder: Vernal was a decoy the whole time. The last Spring Maiden must've trusted you a great deal before she died. I bet that was a mistake...

This is well conveyed by Raven’s case being the opposite of what should ideally happen. Normally an older Maiden should pass her power to a younger girl, so that the cycle keeps going and that a new generation can keep fighting for good. However, Raven steals the powers of the Maiden for herself, just like she uses her shape-shifting ability for selfish objectives:

Ozpin: Everyone has a choice. The Branwens chose to accept their powers and the responsibilities that came with them. And later, one of them chose to abandon her duties in favor of her own self-interest.

She presents herself as a mentor for young women, but in the end she is a failure because she is too self-centered.

In conclusion, Rwby is both a coming of age story and a story that deals with cycles. Let’s think about the many abusive cycles in the story or the damaging cycles present in society, for example. All these cycles need to be broken and I would not be surprised if this will be the case for the cycle of the Maidens as well.

THE CHOSEN ONES

Up until now, the person who should be a Maiden never becomes one.

a) Pyrrha was destined to be the Fall Maiden, but Cinder stole the power.

b) Vernal is foreshadowed to be the Spring Maiden, but Raven turns out to be the real one.

c) Winter has been preparing herself to inherit the Winter’s Maiden’s role, but Penny is the one chosen by Fria.

Why is that so?

The story is clearly playing with the idea of the “chosen one” and asking some questions.

Are people chosen by destiny:

Cinder: It’s unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours.

Or do they choose it?

Red-Haired Woman: She understood that she had a responsibility… to try. I don’t think she would regret her choice, because a Huntress would understand that there really wasn’t a choice to make. And a Huntress is what she always wanted to be.

What if the chosen person is the wrong one?

Lionheart: She was determined, at first, when she inherited her powers, but the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child. She... ran. Abandoned her training, everyone. That was over a decade ago. There's no telling where she could be now.

Finally, is it even right to choose a person?

Weiss: Doesn't it bother you? He practically groomed your entire military career.

Winter: It did at first, when the General first proposed it to me. But the more I thought about it, the more I saw it as a privilege, a chance to do some real good for Atlas. For Remnant.

Weiss: But your destiny was chosen for you, without your input.

So far each Maiden has explored this concept in a different way. Moreover, the story has highlighted many problems with the method used by Ozpin and his allies to select their guardians.

First of all there is the machine used to transmit aura:

Ironwood: We've made... significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it.

Qrow: Capture it and cram it into something else. (gestures to Pyrrha as she takes a second to realize what that means) Or in your case ...

Pyrrha: (to Ironwood) That's...

Ironwood: Classified.

Pyrrha: ... wrong!

This method has been presented in-universe as sketchy and unethical both for the person who is having her aura taken and for the person receiving it.

It is also interesting that this machine is basically the technological equivalent of the Grimm used by Salem and Cinder to steal the powers in the first place:

One is the product of destruction (The Brother’s Grimms), while the other is the result of creation (in-universe technology is linked to creation). However, they both do essentially the same thing. They steal another person’s aura and change the one absorbing it:

Raven: You turned yourself into a monster just for power.

Secondly, there is the fact that so far several Maidens have died or have been targeted in horrible ways.

Some of them were specifically attacked because young and less experienced than others, like Amber. Some others made their choice without truly understanding it, like the Spring Maiden. And some of them. like Pyrrha, were not even given all the elements to make an informed choice.

In short:

Hazel: You send children to their deaths for a cause that you know has no victory, no end!

It is true that Hazel is a hypocrite that feels anger for Ozpin sending students to their deaths only to be the one killing them. It is also true that he does not respect his sister’s choice:

Oscar: Did she know the risk of being a Huntress?

Hazel: She was only a child! She wasn't ready!!

Oscar: She made a choice! A choice to put others before herself! So do I.

However, the narrative harshly criticizes Ozpin for not giving people all the information, “the knowledge”, they need to make that choice:

Yang: There was so much you hadn't told us! How could you think that was okay?!

Finally, we arrive at the current volumes where we see how Ironwood has tried to control Penny, Winter and Fria aka all the three people involved in the passage of the Maidens powers...only to fail miserably.

And in this failure probably lies the true mistake which has been made over and over again. The whole point is that probably the whole cycle (thematically) can’t and should not be controlled to this extent:

Goodwitch: At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed on to young women. But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more... intimate.

Pyrrha: ... Intimate?

Goodwitch: As we understand it now, when a Maiden dies, the one who is in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power.

The powers are passed from a person to another through emotions. It is not by chance that the last person in a Maiden’s mind is the one who gets the power. It is because the power is linked to emotions and to ties and you should not try to weaponize them.

MAIDENS AND RELICS

Finally each Maiden is clearly linked to the theme represented by her respective relic.

Pyrrha and Cinder are both linked to the idea of destiny and choosing. I have shared some thoughts on them here.

I would say that Cinder wants to be chosen. She wants to be special and to be given value. This is probably why she is serving Salem. It is because Salem has chosen her for an important role:

Salem: When I chose you as my vessel for the Maidens, I put my trust in you.

This is not positive. It is dehumanizing:

Salem: This game is not yours to win, Cinder, it’s mine. Just because you’re more valuable to me than a pawn, does not make you a player.

But Cinder sees this as a chance.

Pyrrha is instead a person, who chooses her own destiny:

Pyrrha: When I think of destiny, I don’t think of a predetermined fate you can’t escape. But rather… some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life.

In other words, Pyrrha has an active role in her own destiny, while Cinder so far has accepted it passively.

This might seem ironic because all in all Cinder has been a pretty active character. She was born as nothing and fought to free herself and to become more powerful. However, she is still leaving her own life in the hands of another person, who is specifically coded as an abusive mother-figure. It is probable that her arc will be about taking back the agency Salem is clearly stealing from her.

This might very well be why she is the Maiden of choice. It is because in the end she’ll make an active choice to get her own freedom back.

At the same time, Pyrrha being active in her choices still leads to her demise. This is because she represents a choice without knowledge, as I have stated in the meta linked above:

She had been explained only a fragment of the truth, while the whole point is that one should learn, meet creation and destruction and then make a choice. This is why we have yet to meet the relic of choice.

As a matter of fact it is clear that knowledge and choice are complementary, just like destruction and creation.

This is highlighted also by their respective relics. On one hand the Lamp offers knowledge of the past. On the other hand the Crown gives its user a vision of a future choice.

This is because one has to know the past to change the future:

Bartholomew Oobleck : History is important, gentlemen! If you can't learn from it... you're destined to repeat it.

In a sense, knowledge is the passive condition of choice, while choice is the active goal of knowledge.

This is why one needs both to contribute to the world in the most effective way possible. If one acts without knowledge they might make the wrong choice. At the same time, knowledge without choice is just passiveness, as shown in The Indecisive King fairy tale.

Too much knowledge might lead to indeciveness or even cynism. This is why Raven is the Spring Maiden. It is because she is Pyrrha’s opposite aka knowledge without choice:

Yang: Which is it, mom? Are you merciful, or are you a survivor? Did you let me walk into that trap because you knew I could handle it, or because it meant you could get what you wanted?!

Raven keeps making decisions only to run away from them immediately after. Knowledge did not make her braver, but just a coward.

Finally we arrive to Penny and the idea of creation.

I have mentioned Penny in the meta linked above:

Penny is an artificial human, a creation who was given life because her father loved her so much that he sacrificed a part of his aura for her… twice. She is at the centre of the theme of creation and it represents the good sides of it. She is a creation with a soul, a child, the fruit of parental love. It is because of the love she received that she is willing to protect creation.

Penny is at the centre of the theme of creation in two ways.

a) She is a child, who wants independence.

b) She is a good declination of technology.

On one hand children are new lives that join the world. They are the embodyment of creation.

On the other hand technology is an expression of human creation and a way humans have to change and influence reality.

Penny is both. She is Pietro’s girl and a robot with a soul:

Pietro: When the General first challenged us to find the next breakthrough in defense technology, most of my colleagues pursued more obvious choices. I was one of the few who believed in looking inward for inspiration.

Ruby: You wanted a protector with a soul.

Pietro: I did. And when General Ironwood saw her, he did too. Much to my surprise, the Penny Project was chosen over all the other proposals.

Ironwood choosing Pietro’s project over others is very interesting and ambiguous. Did he choose this project because at the time he understood the importance of “a protector with a soul”?

Probably consciously yes, but the way he has treated Penny since volume 2 suggests also something different. It suggests a desire of domination. The idea that putting a soul into a metallic body would make it easier to control it.

After all:

Ironwood: For the past few years, Atlas has been studying Aura from a more scientific standpoint; how it works, what's it made of, how it can be used. We've made... significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it.

Each one of humanity’s gift has another side of itself. Knowledge can lead to fear and choice is linked to passivity/agency. When it comes to creation, this gift brings with itself the temptation of control.

Why shouldn’t a creator “own” theis creation? Why shouldn’t they be entitled to it? Why should they share it with the rest of the world?

If one looks at Ironwood, at Atlas and at the other protagonists of this volume this way, a lot of things resonate.

Atlas is the most technological advanced kingdom, but instead of sharing its resources it closes off. Ironwood’s embargo is just another declination of this same idea of losing control.

Similarly the Ace Ops and Winter are all repressing their emotions. They want perfect control over themselves. They are taught they should be like drones.

Technology itself is often misused by the characters. Technolofy should be like Penny. It should have humanity and a soul, but Ironwood likes it because he sees it as something logical that can be controlled (and of course he keeps losing control over it). Ironwood wants to become like he thinks Penny is aka a controllable soul. He fails to understand that Penny is special because she has her own free will.

Finally, this same desire of control is present also in familial relationship. It is not by chance that the Schnee Family is in Atlas. Weiss’s story has always been about exploring this specific idea of a family. A family, which is cold and controlling, just like ice. Weiss’s arc is about melting this ice, in herself first and now in others as well.

Technological control and the control of people. In short, the control over two aspects of creation. This is the the idea Atlas represents and this is why it is currently falling.

In short, the creation must be free and it is not by chance the world is in its current predicament because the Gods tried to control their creations with disastrous results.

CONCLUSION

These are my main thoughts on the Maidens so far. That said, they might chance since the story is far from over as the arcs of all the maidens we have met so far.

As a final note, I find interesting that so far none of our four protagonists is a Maiden. It is an interesting choice and I think that it lets the series make a good use of its ensemble cast.

That said, I wonder if our four protagonists will end up calling back the original Four Maidens instead.

The fairy tale is interesting on multiple levels.

In-universe, it is interesting because it tells us something about how Ozpin was probably inspired by the original Four Maidens to try to save the world again. Ozpin is inspired by four normal people, who are just trying their best to help others.

This is a recurring idea in Rwby and this might be why none of the four protagonists has been selected to be a Maiden yet.

If read as a stand-alone, the story is an interesting tale on how to overcome depression.

The story starts with the old man closed in his house and it shows how he progressively opens up until he himself is able to help others.

Winter is the one who teaches him how to work on his own interiority even when the world is cold.

Springs prepares the terrain for him to come out. It makes the garden more welcoming. It is like when a person has to find the right environment to open herself up.

Summer is the one who finally drags the man out and gives him energy.

Finally Fall is the one who makes the man realize he can now share his new found energy with others.

Theirs is a virtuous cycle and I would say it is very different of the tragic cycle that sees the current Maidens as protagonists. Who knows? Maybe it is about going back to that virtuosity.

Thank you for the ask!

#rwby #rwby meta #maidens #cinder fall #raven branwen #penny polendina #pyrrha nikos #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

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