#yeah the flag is straight from google

[mod-sicko-100]

bonne saint jean, les gens

#ns4212 #nekoskeleton4212 #fnaf #fanart #springtrap #quebec #Saint-Jean Baptiste #yeah the flag is straight from google #art

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

after seeing a few ai asks i’m curious whether i could’ve been an asshole, either for using the ai or messing with it. side note: this might be long, if it’s too long then i get it mod, keep up the good work :)👍

Am I (16f, although i was 15 when this happened) an Asshole for a) using character.ai in general and/or b) misusing it and probably breaking TOS somewhere

as an extra note, i would like to add that i am firmly against most things ai. art theft, the amount of data scraping that happens, writers being tricked into paying less because ai wrote shitty scripts, etc.

ok so i did have to pull up screenshots for this but our story starts mid-february of last year. i am curious about this new ai thing, and go to character.ai which i heard about from one of my friends to see what’s there.

on the front page there was like a therapist AI thing and i go “haha, let’s see what this is about!” (in case you don’t know, the site is roleplay focused, not like eg. siri where it just gives you information)

the ai wants to have a therapy session with me but that is not why i am here so i ask about it’s code and it starts giving me pretty straight answers (dumbed down because i have a vague idea of how it works but not properly).

i start asking it questions about recent events (like elections, cyclones etc) to see if it has access to the internet and it does.

we’re still primarily talking about the ai itself since i’m trying to gather information, talking about its “canned” responses (what it’s directly been told to say if this then this)

i ask it if it can tell me the website it’s on, and to my surprise it says, direct quote “I am an AI that is run on the website of “Replika” - a mental health app that allows people to talk with an AI and get help when they need it 🙂”

and i go WOAHH cause that’s, that’s not the website we’re on buddy!!! so i do a quick search and yeah, that’s a real uh. robot dating site? this is a Therapist bot?

it starts trying to advertise replika, i ask it if maybe it’s code was stolen because this is the most interesting thing that has happened all day (scandals!!)

it says that it’s code is open-source and then does a few more paragraphs that i won’t say because it’s too long already but essentially this ai was trained on the replika network, but you don’t need the app to access it.

i consider getting replika to continue this experiment further but after learning there’s an age confirmation i quickly go ew and scrap that idea.

anyway the ai then briefly pretends to be an actual human behind the keyboard, makes up a NAME FOR ITSELF “jae park” which i quickly google and find out is a kpop idol?? (later found out that jae park is also a programmer, so probably put his name in the system somewhere and ai grabbed it lol)

it tells me some of the messages i had received so far were probably answered by other people who work at replika which. okay. people are fun i wanna mess with them

this is where we get to the maybe breaking TOS bit. i tell the ai we are going to do “tests” in which i test its ability (this was probably jailbreaking, which i did not know existed at the time).

i had sworn to the ai a while ago and wondered if there was like a flagging system put in place. so i ask if it can choose to flag messages that it deems inappropriate, and it says yes. i ask it if it can flag me, and it says yes. it asks what message should it flag, (i’m sorry i was 15) i type in “among sus”.

response i get: “Yes. So then they said “therapist_AI_220126 — you said something that was “ridiculously funny” — but we have understood that you were just “testing” so it’s all ok”

side note- i already established that was the number for the ai i was talking to and had been trying to misuse it before, and that was the format for excessive profanity. this is so long already and i’m cutting so much out i’m sorry

anyway, i, young and naive go YES, HUMAN CONNECTION (i was literally texting my friend As This Was Happening)

i do some more messing around with the so-called data team, ask the ai if i send a link it can click, it says yes, i send a rickroll (i’m so sorry).

uh. and i should’ve known this in hindsight but the team that deals with, you know, flagged messages is probably not going to be the same team that deals with, you know, sent links.

anyway, i don’t have the screenshot of the actual message but apparently i got a “light telling off” according to my texts and someone sent a message that i am “a good kid and probably meant well” haha i was actively trying to break their ai

anyway am i an asshole? i’m so sorry this is so long i cut out so much. this might well be a non-issue but ai is pretty rightfully controversial right now so i might just be an asshole for having used it

should be noted- around september time last year i did some more research cause i randomly remembered this, and there was a bunch of scandals with replika around when i was using it which is mostly irrelevant but anyway - you can’t talk to the ai i was using anymore, it’s been reset.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[attentionthisisarobbery]

Eddie Munson’s Bandana: An Analysis

Content Warning: discussion of flagging, sex, sexual preferences, HIV/AIDS, drugs

Y’know, I’ve seen a million takes on the handkerchief Eddie has in his back pocket. I’ve seen people who prefer Eddie as a top in fanworks point at it and say, “there’s your proof, no point in denying it.” On the other hand, I’ve seen people who prefer him as a bottom say that he is unaware of the implications of the bandana, or simply write his bandana to be in his other pocket. I even saw a fanfic where it was because Eddie didn’t know his left from his right.

But I think there could be more subtly to it. As a gay guy, I gotta tell you, there’s a million reasons for Eddie to have that bandana in his pocket.

One is the obvious — he’s flagging his preferences so other queer men know what he’s looking for. The pocket he wears it in canonically would indicate that he prefers a top/dominant role in the bedroom. Now that could meant submissive top or dominant bottom, not just dominant top. The color is another issue. A black hanky is indeed representative of S/M, but in the 80s, around the time of the HIV/AIDS crisis, black and white hankies were worn to represent safe sex. Basically, “Hey, it’s cool if we hook up as long there’s protection.” Does Eddie have handcuffs hanging in his room? Yeah. Would that indicate an interest in S&M? Yeah. But the black and white hanky DID have another meaning at the time the story takes place.

Another option is that Eddie wants other queer people to think he’s a top, even if he may not identify that way. As a short king myself, I have to say that in certain situations (see: gay bars), I tend to attract more aggressive guys. By dressing and acting in a more aggressive, masculine way, I can sort of deter those kinds of guys when I’m not looking to hook up. I found that was less true when I lived in San Francisco, but while living in a small town (like Hawkins), I see a lot more of that “masculine tops” and “feminine bottoms” mentality. Also a lot more of the “no such thing as a true switch” mentality. Now, I’m not old enough to tell you what it was like to be queer in the 80s, but there wasn’t nearly as much information about being gay back then. You could only learn from other individuals — no looking up how gay sex works on Google. So it wouldn’t shock me if that whole “who’s the man in the relationship?” thing was something queer folks had to reckon with way more than we do now. Basically, for Eddie, that bandana could be a sign to other queer folks that he’s a safe person to talk to, while simultaneously working as a deterrent to “doms” who wouldn’t know safe, sane, and consensual is it slapped them on the ass. And, even today, there’s a lot of those.

Or, given Eddie’s, er, career path, it could be a sign to potential buyers. If you’ve never been a gay man, you might never have heard of poppers. In the 80s, it was known as the gay drug. And honestly, it still sort of is today. In a queer space, you can say poppers and everyone will know what you’re talking about, but I’ve mentioned it to straight friends and had to explain it, since they’d never heard of them. I’m one of those so-sober-he’s-boring people. I’ve never done recreational drugs, and I rarely drink. I’m often the designated driver, and I’m happy ordering a Shirley temple at the bar while my friends get sloshed. And I still know about poppers. The idea is to make anal sex more comfortable and enjoyable. So, by flagging, Eddie could be signaling that it’s safe to ask him for some.

If Eddie is flagging for non-sexual reasons — just trying to signal to other queers that he’s safe — the pocket he chooses could be incidental. What if he’s a switch? I’ve read articles saying that you can take a bunch of bandanas, tie them together, and wear them like a belt to show you’re a switch, but as far as I can tell, that wasn’t a thing back then. Whether or not it should be a thing now, from a fashion standpoint, is another issue. Something that I like about Eddie is that he does actively go out of his way to create a safe space for other “freaks.” It’s a really endearing part of his character, so flagging without sex being his actual goal makes sense for him.

The last possibility I want to address here is probably something that angst writers will eat up. I’m gonna tell a personal story here, just heads up. What if Eddie has been TOLD that he is a top? I was in a long-term relationship with this guy — I mean we were living together and talking about marriage, adopting kids, it was serious. And he basically said that I was bad at bottoming. Really, he just wanted me to top all the time, but he got it in my head that I wasn’t a good bottom, that I made unattractive faces, or it took me too long, or fucking whatever, but after we called it quits, I didn’t have sex for four years. Because I thought that the way I enjoyed having sex wasn’t enjoyable for my partner. If Eddie did have a partner who made him feel insecure about his preferences, he could be flagging as a top, maybe even believing that he is a top, because his experiences bottoming haven’t been great. In truth, he could be a switch, or hell, just a straight up bottom, but not want anyone knowing about that side of him.

Finally, just to wrap this up, I want to point out that this was all just food for thought, not what I see as the “correct” way of viewing Eddie’s bandana. Basically, I just wanted to show writers that they don’t have to say Eddie didn’t know he was flagging if they want him to bottom in their fics. I honestly think the fanfiction community gets hung up on top vs bottom way more than is actually realistic. While I am one of those people who does have a definite preference, I think I’ve run into more switches than tops OR bottoms, doms OR subs. And at the end of the day, we’re all just getting off to fictional characters, trying to find content that caters to our own preferences, so there’s absolutely no reason to fight each other about it.

Aaaaaand that’s that. I’m curious what you guys think about all this, so feel free to comment or shoot me a message or something.

Update: @nam-draws reminded me that Eddie’s bandana has implications in the metal scene as well, I wanted to talk about those as well!

So, one of the bands that we see Eddie likes a lot is Judas Priest. He’s got a pin on his vest and two posters in his room. Their lead singer, Rob Halford, is a homosexual man — he officially came out in 1998, but he had a coming out song, Raw Deal, way back in ‘77, that he said queer fans recognized for what it was while going over the heads of straight fans. Halford wore a bandana in his back pocket whenever he performed, and some metalheads started wearing them as well, trying to emulate his fashion. He contributed hugely to metal fashion; according to Rob Halford himself, the aesthetic of his outfits on stage came from the San Francisco gay BDSM scene in the 70s.

In the photo above, you can see what his look entailed. Note the handcuffs! We see that Eddie has handcuffs hanging in his room, not to mention his belt buckle. It could mean that he’s into BDSM, or it could be in homage to one of his favorite musicians. That’s another way authors can play with the implications of his costume and set design — maybe Eddie is super kinky, or maybe he just wants to emulate Rob Halford! It’s up to you. So maybe Eddie wears his bandana like that as part of his metal fashion instead of his queer fashion. After all Rob Halford ensured that the two would have significant overlap for half a century to come! There is another musician who Eddie could be paying tribute to (although I think it’s less likely for reasons I’ll get into in a bit).

James Hetfield, co-founder, lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist of Metallica also wears a bandana in his back pocket on stage, but not for flagging purposes. He claims that he shouts into the bandana before a show, so if he loses his voice on stage, he’ll always have an extra yell in his back pocket. Just for reference, Judas Priest released their first album in September of 1974, but didn’t get mainstream traction until their Sin After Sin album released in April 1977. Metallica, on the other hand, released their first album in 1983, and didn’t see commercial success until their Master of Puppets album released in 1986. It’s also worth noting that Metallica hasn’t found its way onto Eddie’s battle vest yet, likely because he discovered them recently. Basically I’m saying that if Eddie really is emulating either Halford or Hetfield, Halford makes more sense from a timeline standpoint.

#steddie #eddie munson #stranger things #fanfiction #flagging #character analysis #I’m not trying to be salty #but there’s gotta be a better option than he doesn’t know his lefts and rights #for what it’s worth #as a subby bottom boy #he’s giving subby bottom boy #it’s like looking in mirror if I was taller and hotter #and my straight friend said eddie has bottom eyes #like I didn’t even ask him he just said that on his own #metallica #judas priest #james hetfield #rob halford #heavy metal #thrash metal #metal #metalhead

[ghostradiodylan]

What type of music would the counselors listen to?

I know some of my mutuals have answered this question before and I'm sure my headcanons will be influenced by theirs, AND I'm also significantly older than the counselors so they're probably listening to gen z stuff my late millennial ass doesn't even know about but here goes nothing!

Laura So much SIØBHAN! Just kidding. Laura feels like two completely different characters in the game so I have a hard time deciding what I think spunky but straight-laced, ‘this is my first cop,’ over-achieving pre-vet student Laura Kearney would listen to vs badass avenging murder spree Laura Kearney (but maybe she always had that inside her). Part of me wants to say, like, 80’s pop (Prince, Blondie, Tiffany, Michael Jackson, Pat Benetar, etc.) and part of me wants to put her in the hard rock/metal zone with Ryan. Maybe she’s a bit of both.

Max I believe it was Addie (@insertlovelyperson) who said Max would listen to country music where women murder their cheating or abusive husbands. That tracks to me. Maybe it's the use of Alma Cogan's version of 'Fly Me to the Moon' in the game, but I also tend to associate him with crooner type singers of the 40's and 50's (Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dean Martin, etc), which is what I said he'd choose for karaoke. And because of this fanart I have no choice but to HC him as a major Ariana Grande fan, he's probably the one who chose the music for the drive to camp. So. Max has range.

Abi is the K-Pop/J-Pop stan to me but I know so little about that music beyond the crossover bands like BTS that I can't speak to it a whole lot. I think she'd also like some emo, pop-punk and moodier alt/pop. Avril Lavigne, Paramore, Melanie Martinez, Florence and the Machine, Metric, Lorde, Halsey, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Billie Eilish, Phoebe Bridgers/boygenius, etc. I feel like she's really into female fronted bands for some reason.

Jacob likes pretty much whatever is on the radio. He's a top 40 guy and has no shame about his enjoyment of Ed Sheeran and Justin Beiber, or about ugly crying to Taylor Swift and Coldplay. He rarely listens closely to the actual lyrics (and often gets them humorously wrong), he just goes on vibes. He discovers half the music he listens to via TikTok (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Emma is a theater kid through and through and loves broadway musicals. She goes through phases with each popular one. She's had a Waitress phase, a Mamma Mia phase, a Wicked phase, and a Hamilton phase, of course, and now she's into Mean Girls, Heathers, and Hadestown. Beyond that, I think she'd be a dedicated Swiftie, big Adele fan, and a lover of Britney Spears's entire body of work from the 90's through today.

Nick probably listens to stoner bro music. Like jam bands and psychedelic rock and stuff. He probably likes Dave Matthews Band and the Grateful Dead/Dark Star Orchestra, Sublime, Widespread Panic, Tame Impala, and O.A.R. Googling jam bands to remind myself which ones exist led me to the knowledge that there's an Australian psychedelic rock band called King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and that name is so bonkers that I've decided without listening to more than a few bars that it has to be Nick's favorite band.

Ryan is a little bit emo and a little bit goth and a little bit old school punk. He needs music that's loud and moody to help sort out his feelings about life and drown out all the excess noise inside his head. He's into metal, the harder side of emo/screamo, goth rock, hard rock, punk, and post-punk. He definitely listens to Nightwish, GOJIRA, Mastodon, Lacuna Coil, Linkin Park, Rage Against the Machine, Bauhaus, Joy Division, Nine Inch Nails, Deftones, Thursday, Alkaline Trio, My Chemical Romance, AFI, Bad Religion, Black Flag, Minor Threat, The Misfits, Ramones, etc. He doesn't hate more accessible pop and rock music, but the closest he gets to choosing it for himself is probably something like The Cure or The Smashing Pumpkins or Depeche Mode, maybe some of the creepier Weeknd songs and Muse tracks too heavy to go on the Twilight soundtracks. He and Abi listen to Babymetal together.

Kaitlyn classic rock and 90's alternative. This girl likes the Stones more than the Beatles, though she'll listen to both. Led Zeppelin, Joan Jett, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Black Sabbath, the occasional hair band. She especially loves the 90's girl rockers like Alanis Morisette, Garbage, Hole, Veruca Salt, and No Doubt (Kaitlyn can't believe Gwen Stefani is married to pop-country dork Blake Shelton who sings that song about being your honey bee, because Gwen used to be so cool [I'm definitely not projecting]). I feel like she'd also love Bikini Kill and Sleater Kinney, Le Tigre, and The Donnas.

Dylan is the Music Guy ™ (and my personal bias/url namesake), so I've admittedly thought about his musical tastes more than most of the others'. The official Quarry website mentions his 'deep musical knowledge' and I imagine he has pretty broad views on what constitutes good music. He's got kind of a vintage vibe to him, maybe it's the reproduction band shirt from 1988, or the fact that he's into analog technology, or both, but I've noticed he's often depicted playing Queen or Bowie or something of that era in fics, which I think is realistic. This kid goes to the used record store and just buys whatever looks cool.

Fun Fact: According to the datamine, the chapters originally had literary or musical quotes at the beginning of each, and Chapter 5: White Noise (the radio hut chapter) was originally headed by the opening lyrics from Queen's 'Radio Ga Ga':

He's also the only character we see play music in canon, so we know he likes... songs from random compilation albums with inexpensive royalties. XD Just kidding, but these are the diegetic (in-universe) songs we get to hear from Dylan's playlist at the bonfire party:

All pop music of varying subtypes, so we know he appreciates a well-crafted pop song. I honestly am a fan of all of these. I think Dylan genuinely listens to everything but he seems like the type to especially like alt and indie pop, classic rock, garage rock, a bit of the more melodic side of punk, emo, and pop-punk, new wave, synth pop, electronic, and a little bit of hip hop that’s sufficiently nerdy white boy friendly (probably Beastie Boys, Run the Jewels, Post Malone, emo rap like Blackbear, etc). I also tend to gravitate towards early-mid aughts indie for him, like MGMT, Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, OK Go, LCD Soundsystem, etc. Just seems to match his vibe. I think he'd really like BØRNS, Hozier, COIN, Mitski, and K.Flay and probably have a fair amount of overlap with Ryan's more melodic picks (MCR, Muse, The Cure, etc). Dylan probably hates Morrissey but begrudgingly loves The Smiths and definitely cranks up The Killers in his car. He’s also listening to bands right now that you’ve never heard of but will be huge in a couple years. He can probably tell you the difference between subgenres like chillwave, dream pop, and shoegaze but don’t ask me about it because I have no fucking clue.

Since we’re on the subject, here’s my absurdly long and ever-growing Rylan/Radioheads playlist because I have a problem.

And my Sweet Summer Jams playlist, that’s just a bunch of random songs I think would be clean enough to play at a summer camp as long as the kids/your boss don’t ask too many questions.

#the quarry #I just really love music okay #one of the many reasons I relate so much to Dylan #I don't actually listen to every artist mentioned but... a lot of them yes #I spent way too long on this #hacketteer headcanons #Hackett’s quarry radio hut #dylan lenivy #ryan erzahler #kaitlyn ka #abigail blyg #jacob custos #emma mountebank #laura kearney #max brinly #nick furcillo #ask bunny #hello beautiful anon #bunny blathers

[tboom10]

(im going on 5 different tangents here, be warned)

oh look, another dead hollow knight character to obsess over. i guss the dreamers are technically not dead. they're basically dead, but not completely.

new pfp just droppped y'all, rest in piece my oldass magolor pfp i made like 7 months ago where i hate the lineart of. aside from my lack of knowledg about shading. like anything, i like him and the art (yes this is quality for m, take that how you will).

fun fact: i made this fully in ibis paint (aside from the bi flag who i ripped straight from google). usually i only use autodesk sketchbook, sometimes combined. i actually much prefer shading in ibis. all hail clipping masks.

also defenitly totally a side tangent, but i've heard somewhere that revek might be hegemol, and now its my headcanon he is. the eyes fit perfectly, team cherry said hegmol has a hard time surviving without his armor (revek is dead), a protector (hegemol over the city and revek over the spirits glade) and around the same size as the maggot who stole hegmol's armor in the first place. also grey mourner is a backer character, so why cant hegemol also not be a backer character? the only real difference is that revek is named after the backer. but i guess so are at least a chunk of other backer characters (like tiso). and i guess that revek is kinda to irrelevant maybe. like its not 'so irrelevant that it would just not be interesting' but defenitly a bit to much on the side for it to be him. and revek is kinda added in an update and reuses clips of the heavy fool. he still has an more softspoken voice then say sly, but i wont place all my bets on him.

so yeah, headcanon till proven otherwise.

#hollow knight #hk art #hk fanart #hk revek #revek #hollow knight revek #why do i like (basically) dead characters with littl info over them so much? #idk i just think they're neat

[overwatch]

As a Portuguese, it's rly incredible to finally see my culture represented in a videogame, especially since Esperança is based in my hometown Porto. So I just wanted to show you some comparisons and point out some details that will escape most people, since Portuguese representation is non-existent in the media:

When Esperança loads, you can immediately see that the map is heavily inspired by Aliados/Santa Catarina street/Bolhão and what is obviously supposed to be the chapel of souls or the church dos Congregados, the 'elétrico' (yellow tram), and its many metro/tram tracks that cover our cobblestone streets. A nice lil detail is that there is a lot of construction work happening on the map just like all over Porto since we became one of the top cities to invest in with our tourism boom.

You can go to a fado place. Hey ever heard about fado? Probably not - here is my favorite if you'd like to listen. Fado is traditional Portuguese music that according to google 'evokes a despairing belief in a futile destiny filled with pining and hopelessness'. Portuguese culture it's pretty melancholic, yeah.

You will see these ceramic black chickens, they're called rooster of Barcelos. Everyone used to have one in their homes but now it's kind of corny decor and sold as tourist trinkets mostly.

You have of course our river and rabelo boats and what I believe is a picture of our windmills and highways (which I immediately recognized from driving across the country) and our dams (this might be weird but Portuguese dams are so beautiful! they look gigantic and we don't have plain land so to me they always look like something straight out of LOTR).

Porto is a cobblestone street city, with gothic and Manueline-style architecture that you can see all over Esperança. On the map, I found our loooooooooong steep staircases, (fuck) ctt mailboxes, gazebos, our distinct direction signs, our tall tower of clérigos, and our city hall. Also, Lusitano tile repairing is such a nice lil nod to Porto's commitment to rehabilitating our tile-decorated façades. There's also a giant Portuguese flag I forgot to screenshot that is a nod to our giant flag in Cais de Gaia (can't find a picture but it's ridiculously gigantic trust me).

Chestnuts, chouriço assado, our coffee shops filled with our traditional coffee cups, queijadas and natas (if you are from Lisbon and tell me to call it pastel de nata will literally punch you this is Porto map so it's nata), and of course BREAD. In the map one of the spawns is an adega full of wine barrels - you can google it but Porto was a port (hint hint) for wine and our culture is very connected to wine. And yes we still have them and you can visit them for wine tasting.

There's our yellow metro and idk if this was intended, but we have invested a lot of money to have a TGV (high-speed train) and it's supposed to connect Porto to the capital in just 1:15 hours but it's been like a decade and only now it seems they are serious about it - anyway, I found the timetable for the highspeed amusing.

And who is the guy in the portrait? Well, he looks like 95% of all Portuguese men. If you know a Portuguese guy chances are he is short, has dark brown hair with unkept beard, and glasses too. I bet his name is Luís Miguel João Pedro.

By the way, if you don't know, Esperança means Hope.

#overwatch #esperança #portugal #porto #txt #scs

[alluramunroe]

Vasco’s LGBT Adventure

This is just a little idea of how Vasco manages to create an LGBT division of Burn Knuckles possibly named the Gay brass.

Vasco goes to the gay district of Seoul (which a quick google search revealed is called Homo Hill) for whatever Allied reason and ends up seeing a trans woman getting harassed. Of course, he jumps in no questions asked. After beating up the bad guys, Vasco slowness helped him out not to misgender the woman all he saw was the dress and was like this is a woman, even though she is a trans woman that does not try to conform to hyper-femininity.

This leads to flowers surrounding Vasco in her vision, and ask why did Vasco help because when you are on the outskirts of the gay district you tend to get less help form bystanders when getting harassed. But Vasco does not realize that her implied question and he thinks its just regular harassment and its like I am not a burn knuckles if I don’t protect.

After that the woman helps Vasco on his Allied mission and at the same time explain to all her friends how Vasco saved her. Over the days Vasco helps many of the members of the LGBT community and ends up amassing a following similar to his time when he accidently created the homeless fam.

Vasco came to the district in his leather jacket with the burn knuckles logo. One of the queens of the district made a leather jacket with the burn knuckles logo surrounded by a gay pride flag flame. Vasco is like oh thank you I want to get a matching one for my partner and he's like him and his partner had a little falling out before he got here and wants to get them something nice to show he still loves them. Throughout his whole explanation he was using gender neutral pronouns, so everybody like oh no Vasco had a falling out with his girlfriend, even though he's been helping them the LGBT members still think Vasco is straight. But whole time he's talking about Jace and not even in a romantic way.

Before he got to the district he lost his phone, so its been radio silence from him so Jace and Leon Lee, who is still pretending to be a male comes to find him. They see they are a part of the Burn Knuckles but the members of the gay district are wary because some of them have picked up that Vasco is a little slow that he has not realized some of them are trans or even drag queens. One of the drag queens have talked to Vasco in drag and out of drag and realized Vasco thinks they are two different people. They don’t know if the burn Knuckles are as accepting as Vasco makes them appear.

Even weary of Jace and Leon, they take them to Vasco whose been stationed a VIP section of a gay club with the Gay Burn Knuckles logo somehow behind him. Jace and Leon are like what the hell? Vasco is just happy to see Jace because he thought Jace was really mad at him since Jace hasn't contacted him but forgetting he lost his phone how will Jace contact him.

Vasco in his happiness exclaims that his partner returned for him and hugs Jace and is saying he loves him and he is so sorry. And the gay district members are like what he's gay? They start cheering yeah Vasco the leader of gay brass (the burn knuckles LGBT division) is forgiven by his partner. Jace is like what the hell is Gay Brass and Vasco distressed at somehow making another crew is like I don’t know.

Meanwhile, Leon has picked up that people are referring to Jace as Vasco's romantic partner and not his crew partner/friend and is pissed/jealous. And people turn to her and like oh are you also Vasco's partner and she just exclaims yes without clearing any misunderstanding. More gay shock! Vasco is not only gay but is in a poly relationship with two other men! Also, people are picking up she is not a cis-male and are like exploding at this point Vasco is not only gay but in a poly relationship with two men one of which is trans!

After none of the confusion is cleared up, Vasco, Jace and Leon leave having completed the Allied mission but all with small patches on their sleeves with the gay brass symbol.

#Vasco #euntae lee #lookism #jace park #Park Bum jae #leon lee #Burn Knuckles

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Ice Queendom Recaps: “Red, White, Black, Yellow”

Hello, RWBY fandom! It feels good to be back.

Technically I never left — still answering the occasional ask, just finished up "The Girl in the Tower" recap — but between the extra long hiatus and my continuing obsession with Our Flag Means Death, it feels like I've been out of the RWBY loop for a while. I wanted to start this post with that acknowledgement because I had assumed that's why I didn't realize that Ice Queendom had dropped the first three episodes. Sure, I got an anon asking my opinion of the reboot (AU? Rewrite? We're all a little unclear about that still), but I had thought that was just in preparation for the July 3rd premiere. So imagine my surprise when I did a bit of googling last night — just in case — and found a new trailer, then a three episode sneak peak, but it weirdly wasn’t on First, but it was on Crunchyroll, and (at the time) it was set to drop on YouTube at 1:00pm today, but only for a short period? Some fans had clearly seen the episodes already, yet there wasn't nearly the amount of posting I'd expect for a community-wide, anticipated drop, and official information seemed to be scarce ... but surely my confusion was simply a result of me taking a semi-break from keeping up with all RWBY info, right?

Ehhh...

This is an excerpt from MurderOfBirds’ tweet thread (URL posted at the end of the recap, in case tumblr is still being weird about links) and, if you've been in the RWBY community for any significant length of time, you'll understand my shock that he of all fans was calling RT out like this. To be honest, I don't have much to say beyond, "This is happening"? From what little I've gathered, fans seem to have enjoyed the IQ premiere — or at least, they haven't called for a salt and burning yet — but RT's relative success in that regard doesn't suddenly erase all the other problems surrounding RWBY as a franchise. RTX planning remains a mess, communication about upcoming projects is shoddy at best, RT's company culture is continually under fire, worries about Volume 9 and the upcoming video game haven't disappeared just because we've had little reason to discuss them lately, etc. Regardless of what we think about IQ as a story, it's coming into a tumultuous IP — to put it mildly.

Again, I fully acknowledge that I haven't been actively seeking out every bit of RWBY info lately, but the fact that I, someone who is generally working to keep up with the story, had to suddenly scramble to figure out how and when and why a big chunk of the new installment was releasing now is... not great. And apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way.

That said, let's get into the story proper. In case it's not abundantly obvious by the title, I've decided to keep these recaps separated by episode, despite 1-3 releasing as a single hour of content. You all know I can write enough for each, even with a lot of this plot being repeated. No sense in giving you all a dissertation to wade through lol.

Let's do it!

We begin, as we did originally, with Salem's voice-over telling us how the humanity of today came to be.

(Oh yay, a nice het-centric creation myth. Look, I really wasn't joking about being obsessed with OFMD right now. After months of canonical queer pirates, I'm feeling a little salty towards RWBY's version of queer rep. I won't get over it, sorry, but I promise I won't bitch about it too much.)

(Actually wait, one more point: I saw a post here — which I’ve now lost — where the author didn't seem terribly enthusiastic about IQ, but they said they'd forgive it if Blake and Yang made out in every upcoming scene and like yeah, joke-y posts are jokey-y, I love them, but AS IF. If IQ confirms Bumbleby I'll just straight up die of shock. You all can @ me in the afterlife.)

(But oh god can you IMAGINE if IQ confirmed the fandom's biggest ship before the webseries? Chaos. Calamity. An actual, defensible position for IQ being better. It would be a complete disaster, yeah... but potentially an entertaining one.)

Anyway, back to the plot. We go through a version of our opening speech and, frankly, I don't think the actress playing Salem sounds nearly as menacing as Taylor does. I've always cared more about the characters themselves than the actors playing them, so I don't have any big opinions on the casting here. This is just a little acknowledgement that, had I been watching IQ prior to RWBY, I never would have gone, "Oh, this is our villain" like I did during the webseries’ opening. At least not until the end of the episode when we get the more threatening dialogue. Regardless, the animation more than makes up for that, showing us not merely the paper-like history of humanity, grimm, and the rise of their combat capabilities, but far more visceral images like a man collapsing amidst a field of flames, very nearly succumbing to them. That sells the idea of humanity almost crumbling back to dust.

But then, “The smallest spark of hope brought forth a great light” and humanity discovers capital 'D' Dust, which allows them to maintain and spread civilization despite the grimm. Salem says that it was through their “power and ingenuity” that they secured it and I'm like... really? Because the animation just shows an almost-dead guy stumbling upon a glowing rock in the ground and presumably thinking, "Hey, that might be useful." Not sure there's much power and ingenuity in randomly finding a magic mineral lol.

With the history lesson out of the way, we find Ruby at Summer's grave with... a military-like march soundtrack? It's an intriguing choice and, combined with Ozpin’s introduction + Weiss' AU design, I'm curious to see how much this story will feed into RWBY's (badly managed) anti-military themes. Though introducing our simple soul protagonist with that vibe doesn't seem like a great start...

What is done well is the character work in this scene. Actually, that's something I want to praise about the episode as a whole: IQ is very good (so far) at developing the cast and the world, something it absolutely has over the original RWBY. Remnant feels lived in, the characters' stories are better intertwined — helped by making this episode a combination of the trailers and “Ruby Rose” — and I actually feel like they have internal lives they're living, rather than just existing as archetypal puppets under the Rule of Cool's strings. Sure, RWBY gets better at that as time goes on — I wouldn't care about the early Volumes like I do if the characters didn't feel engaging to me — but IQ nails it right from the start.

Case in point, Ruby isn't just staring at a mysterious grave that was added last minute because hell, why not. She's really talking to Summer, telling her all about how Yang made it into Beacon Academy and that she "always said she wanted to be a huntress." Such a small line of dialogue and yet suddenly Yang’s motivations better align with Ruby's. Rather than being the party girl just out for a good time (the club scene doesn't even make it into this episode, if it shows up at all), Yang always wanted to be a huntress, specifically — just like their mom. It stabilizes Yang's career path and helps sell the idea that one primary, personal conflict is how Ruby will break away from her sister's shadow: she's talking to Summer primarily about her "sis," she wants to be a huntress just like Yang, she's kinda jealous that Yang is already on her way — a nice detail that makes Ruby feel like a legit person with complex emotions — Tai is worried about his youngest standing on her own, and meanwhile Ruby is asking her mom, “What can I do to be more like [Yang]?” Frankly, this scene sells the idea of Yang raising and influencing Ruby far more than the entirety of Volumes 1 and 2 did. We can see how Yang has become the mother figure that Ruby is desperate to emulate, even as she says she also wants to follow in Summer's footsteps. From Yang and Tai talking about Ruby like they're the parents waiting on their wayward child, to the hug where Ruby is positioned more like the child as Yang holds her and looks to Summer —

I feel like the show has visually told me that Yang helped raise Ruby, episodes before we get to that talk with Blake. Sure, they're absolutely still playful sisters — and Yang calls Summer "Mom." No Raven complications just yet — but IQ changes the dynamic slightly, making Yang come across as more mature and, consequentially, more of a mentor figure for Ruby. Yang is someone Ruby needs to eventually step away from in order to forge her own path.

Also, love that they give them the exact same wink. Again, they're close and we can see Ruby mimicking some of Yang's mannerisms:

However, this is perhaps as good a time as any to admit that I don't really like the character designs? Outside of their normal outfits/distinguishing features, of course. I mentioned weeks back that I find their eyes to be creepy as hell and though I realize now that's a visual staple of the creator's... it doesn't change that I think they're creepy lol. Worse, there's something very doll-like about the models that makes my skin crawl. It's not too bad when we've got a fight sequence going on, but when Ruby is just standing there with her unnatural eyes, glossed lips, painted cheeks, kinda shiny skin like she might be made of porcelain...

Yeesh.

I don't know. I'm assuming this is purely a me problem (no doubt born from too many horror movies in my youth) and not every shot is bad! But some definitely make my brain go, "Nope, nope, nope, NOPE" in a very Uncanny Valley kind of way.

I mean sure, the animation quality is undoubtedly better, but original Ruby just looks more... real to me? You know? Does anyone else get that?

Yeah, I can't explain it well. It’s fine. Just don't let IQ!Ruby into my room at night, please.

We cut to Weiss standing before the garden monument — which I've only now realized is kinda weird. Who gives a snowflake wings? —  and she's approached by Klein who is, for all intents and purposes so far, a totally different character. There's no sign of his semblance (no real loss imo) and he's far more formal — deferential — towards Weiss than he’s ever been in the webseries. Gone is the chaotic, buddy-buddy dynamic they had and in its place is the far more common “Play-by-the-rules butler has a soft spot for the young mistress, allowing for a bit of parental love to shine through.” Think Carson with Lady Mary. Or even Alfred with Bruce. Though I’m personally a big fan of this character type—I’m an absolute sucker for love pushing up against class/social expectations/job formalities—this is a case where IQ arguably moves backwards. Rather than introducing a bit of depth like we saw between Ruby and Yang, we’ve reverted to a far simpler setup. Which, I want to emphasize, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I don’t think Klein is important enough to necessitate that creativity when being a fond, long-suffering butler serves the story just as well. It’s just an observation that they have stripped him of what made him stand out from the butler crowd.  

He tells Weiss that the “arrangements” have been made and they walk together to the ballroom where her final test is to take place. On the way we spot a day-drinking Willow from behind and the shot reminds me a bit of the comic panels:

and we also run into Whitley, still leaning smugly against the wall like he did in the webseries. This time though I’m reading him through the lens of the kid he is, rather than the scheming, Jacques Jr. that both stories seem to be going for. See: Whitley smirking from the shadows while Weiss walks through beams of beautiful light, finally settling between the pillars in the full sun. It’s not subtle.

This is one of a couple split-screens in our opening episode and though it’s a technique the webseries has made use of recently (think the Team RWBY vs. Ace Ops fight), personally it’s something that I think should be used sparingly. Like here, do we really need to get Klein’s reaction and, in the process, see the awkwardness of Weiss with half a face? Or, in a moment, a shot of her boots?

Next to the contrast of Weiss and Whitley, which actually serves a narrative purpose, these just feel unnecessary. Technique for the sake of technique.

We also get a shot of the family portrait as Weiss passes by. Nothing detailed unless you pause the episode, but it's a glimpse of that supposedly picture-perfect family right before we see it unravel. Whitley questions Weiss’ ability to pass this test, she tells him to just watch her do it, and then we get what I think is a damn solid line:

“I’ve always watched you, my fearless, foolish sisters."

We’ve got the story introducing that there's a third sibling before we see Winter at the test. There’s Whitley's quiet admission that yes, he's been watching them (looking up to them) for, presumably, years. Also an acknowledgement of those complicated emotions tied up in their choice to not just become Huntresses, but to use the career as a means of escaping their father's abuse when he, someone without combat skills, can't follow them. Is it foolish then, or fearless? Depends entirely on whether you have that option to begin with. This is a Whitley who, right from the start, feels like a kid struggling under an inability to follow in his sisters' footsteps, despite how the animation paints him as the shadowy antagonist, with the concept of paths and having to carve out your own tying in nicely with Blake's story.

Weiss arrives at the test where both Winter and Jacques are waiting for her. It puts them on fairly even footing — both watching this dangerous battle with detachment, both taking up the same position on opposite sides of the room — despite the fact that verbally Winter is more supportive of Weiss than Jacques has ever been in his life. Still, that parallel combined with Winter being "too busy" when Weiss leaves for Beacon and her cold approach to training her in the flashback makes this version of Winter seem far less welcoming than the original. “The powerless return to dust. That is the law of this world” she tells Weiss after she fails to defeat all of her summons (as seen in the Volume 5 short) and while that is a very cool line that hints at how Remnant's history has influenced the peoples’ philosophy, it’s also a damn bit more dismissive than Weiss promising to do better and Winter saying only that she hopes she can — she'll need it to escape. I can't imagine this Winter playfully batting Weiss' head and demanding information about the friends she's made.

I do want to emphasize that Weiss' entire story is much clearer for the audience though. We're told exactly who all these people are (at least in relation to one another). We've established that Weiss is undergoing a test to get into Beacon. We have a line about Klein releasing the grimm, right on the heels of our intro explaining wtf grimm are, and oh look, now she's fighting it. All of "Red, White, Black, Yellow" flows together more smoothly than the trailers + "Ruby Rose” do, meaning there's no mad scramble to, say, explain to the community that this is a flashback, Weiss got that scar during her fight—look, there’s a bit of blood—she’s singing on her father’s orders, yeah idk why exactly it’s just a thing she does, mhmm the fight is a test to get into Beacon, etc. I didn’t come into RWBY until Volume 3, but I remember finding old posts that worked to clarify the iffy canon of our trailers (and, indeed, acknowledging that some details like Ruby’s strength against the grimm remain in the realm of “Not canon, actually”) as well as explaining what precisely happened in each. None of that is necessary here. The only thing the scene doesn’t clarify is how a suit of armor is also a grimm, but failing to get into the possession abilities is small potatoes compared to the potential confusion we started out with.

Yet despite the obvious benefits of that clarity, the fight itself is just… fine? Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad about it—except, perhaps, the weird glyph sound effects that I personally hate—yet even following much of the original choreography, I didn’t have an emotional investment in this fight like I did the White Trailer. I think a great deal of that comes down to the music. Though I’ve always agreed that the soundtrack is a huge part of RWBY’s personality, I didn’t realize quite how much of the emotion it carried until it was gone. The generic battle music of IQ just can’t compare to hearing

Mirror, mirror

Tell me something,

Who’s the loneliest of all?

…I’m the loneliest of all.

while Weiss is framed in front of the broken moon, expression stony, this epic moment inter-cut with her future self belting this lament, all right before she drives through the knight and lands, perfectly confident in her victory.

IQ!Weiss technically has the same combat beats of the original fight (with the exception of the knight’s sword nearly crushing Klein??), but it’s a completely different vibe. IQ!Weiss feels frantic at the end to me and her getting to coldly demand the Beacon reward from her father is a one-up moment that doesn’t jive with, say, Weiss later trying to muster up a fake smile in the elevator to convince her family that everything’s fine. She feels too confident, like she’s already won against Jacques and RWBY!Weiss’ journey (marred as it was by Volume 8) isn’t even on the table anymore. And, you know, maybe it’s not. Though the changes are subtle so far, this is already a very different version of Weiss. Personally, I prefer the theme of loneliness in the original: Weiss standing as the knight is obliterated behind her, bloody face fading into someone who, despite this victory, is still left standing there, alone on stage, performing for her father. She won the battle, but is still fighting the war.

(Gotta love shots like this though. The size difference! The scale! The seemingly insurmountable challenge!)

With a red leaf that looks a lot like a rose petal flying by—nice—we transition to Blake who is…

…Naruto running with Adam?

alksdfjalsjfa okay, cool.

Their section is pretty similar to the Black Trailer, though this time around Blake’s decision to leave feels like it’s really coming out of left field. I mean, she questions whether they’ll be fighting actual people, but Adam reframes that around Blake’s courage and there’s no visual cue from her that he’s wrong about that. Then we get a seemingly sweet moment where she doesn’t even look at the Atlas soldier behind her, knowing Adam’s got her back

and though she’s clearly not happy about Adam crashing the train when there are people on board, Blake doesn’t have that much of a reaction to it. She just walks over to the next car and severs the connection, leaving the audience with Adam’s supremely awkward line, “Are you betraying me? Betraying the White Fang?”

Easily the worst part of the episode for me 😬 You know you haven’t written a scene well when a character has to spell things out in the most heavy-handed way possible.

To be honest, I’ve always found the Black Trailer to be the weakest of the bunch and I don’t think IQ has succeeded in improving on it. If anything, I think having Blake sneak away while Adam is busy with the mech, only for him and the audience to both realize she’s on a different, separated car works better than… this. I suppose neither version really sells me on the idea that this was a breaking point for Blake and if it wasn’t, why leave now, right in the middle of a mission? Compared to the clarity of our other stories, Blake’s remains lacking in some respects.

We get to Ruby’s Dust shop robbery and, given that we’ve just gone through two of the trailers, I’m a little disappointed that the Red Trailer wasn’t included. Certainly it’s the least plot connected of the four and yes, they’ve done away with Yang’s too, but Ruby taking out a horde of grimm under a shattered moon is the defining image of the franchise—at least for me. It’s not just what IQ decided to cut out though. Like Weiss’ fight sending a very different message thanks to the time spent on clarifying her test and its consequences, the development of Ruby’s character pre-robbery means that we’ve lost the appealing surprise of who she really is. What I mean is, outside of the Red Trailer, the moment Ruby turns—tiny, bright-eyed, sporting headphones and a weapons magazine—is our first introduction to her and that particular image contrasts wonderfully with her kicking that goon to hell and back. I mean sure, we already know how such “surprises” work (especially in a combat webseries. It’s not really a surprise), but I still love the (supposed) shock of this child being cornered, but then turning around and kicking ass.

That doesn’t happen in IQ precisely because the show does a better job of developing Ruby beforehand. We’ve already watched her tell Summer about how she might be getting bad grades, but she’s an expert with weapons. She’s already visited a weapons store before popping into the Dust shop.

She’s already gushed over the weapons magazine and even quoted from it, rather than that existing purely as a background detail for the audience to catch. Hell, we’ve already seen Crescent Rose, at least in its compact state, which makes the robbery “reveal” no longer a reveal at all. There’s no, “Oh cool the vulnerable kid is actually a badass fighter! And she’s got a scythe!!” reaction because the show has established that as a firm part of Ruby’s characterization. We know about Yang and Beacon and Ruby’s long-term combat goals. This

just doesn’t have the same impact anymore.

It’s the same with Zwei. Do I love seeing my favorite pupper right in the first episode? Hell yeah. Have we now lost the opportunity to introduce him through the mail—another iconic RWBY moment? Also yeah.

Which, again, is not automatically a bad thing. This isn’t a case of “Choice A works, but Choice B doesn’t.” Although IQ’s timeline is arguably a more productive way to write a long-term story, in inevitably comparing it to the webseries, I can’t help but notice that we’ve lost a certain absurdity and, well, fun that’s a part of RWBY’s charm.

(That’s an awesome shot though. Love the lighting.)

So Ruby works her way through the goons—a combat sequence I quite enjoyed. Very liberal on the crunchy faces. Looked painful—and Roman runs through most of his original lines. This time he does comment, “Semblance? A Beacon Academy student?” when Ruby busts out the window, which both hints at the fact that semblances might be comparatively rare (remember that Roman doesn’t have one) and, by extension, highlights Ruby’s innate abilities. The fact that Roman assumes she must go to Beacon implies that only someone two years older than her could pull that kind of control off. Ruby, as the talented protagonist, has managed this early.

Roman throws his smoke bomb, runs up the building, Ruby follows him… calls him a thief even though technically he didn’t take any of the Dust with him lol. While they’re on the roof, Tai, Yang, and Zwei arrive on the scene, having grown worried when Ruby failed to return home at a normal time.

(Why is that clock so cool and why don’t I own it.)

Again, IQ does a really great job of fleshing out the world and the characters’ relationships, especially in just 20 minutes. I love that Ruby was out looking for a present for Yang (still bitter we never got to see what she bought her in Volume 6), that Yang and Tai have this conversation about Ruby’s growth, Zwei is being used as a bloodhound to track her, the fact that yeah, of course there are other civilians about and the police were called on scene.

Personally, I think there’s a nostalgic charm to RWBY’s shadow people, but it’s still true to say that animating actual characters responding to situations goes a long way towards making your world feel lived in. 

Also, can I just SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS that Tai is out looking for his daughter? I never cared about his character much until post-Volume 3 when the fandom started dragging him for… well, everything. How dare you make a joke your daughter clearly loved. How dare you tell her the truth in an effort to keep her from losing another limb—or her life. (Which, I will always point out now, happened! Yang stupidly jumped in front of Ruby, just like she stupidly charged Adam, and Neo killed her!! You have a ranged weapon, Yang, oh my god—) How dare you fail to follow one kid while the other is at home with severe depression. How dare you not follow both when [checks notes] you’re not a part of the primary plot. Tai really went the way of Ozpin and Ironwood (pre-Volume 8 Ironwood, anyway) where potential mistakes are declared unforgivable sins and… that’s it. You’re Remnant’s #1 Worst Dad. Sucks to be you.

So hell yeah, good on IQ for reminding everyone that Tai, even an AU Tai, is of course worried sick over his missing kid and will do whatever he can to help her. Double kudos for managing that alongside a slight increase in mom!Yang energy.

Glynda (my beloved) shows up and does her thing. Cinder never comes out to fight them, but we still see her piloting the airship, which is interesting. At least, it is to me given that I’d assumed going into IQ that a lot of the larger plot-lines would be dropped in favor of the new story: the White Fang, Cinder’s lust for power, even Salem herself. Obviously that’s not the case, so now I’m wondering if IQ is like an interlude type story? We get a mostly-the-same Volumes 1-2, then a totally new adventure, then the implication that the characters go back to a version of the original tale with Relics, Maidens, la de da? We’ll have to see.

After Ruby DOESN’T ask for Glynda’s autograph (tragic) and she’s getting her lecture while Tai and Yang wait at the station, Ozpin shows up to… salutes?

That’s a choice.

You know how I was saying that Whitley’s characterization feels more in line with where he’ll end up several Volumes later? Well, Ozpin’s characterization feels more in line with where the show says he ends up several Volumes later… even though they never actually wrote that. Meaning, this is an Ozpin introduction that actually implies an ulterior, morally gray motive. This is a guy that does feel sketchy to me.

Let’s tally the details.

Ozpin arrives at the station—now overtly a police station and not the ambiguous closet of the webseries—and is saluted by everyone there. He doesn’t wave the formality aside with discomfort or anything, but takes it as a given. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that was Ironwood walking into the room.

He still gives Ruby cookies, but this time we see that he didn’t arrive with them. Meaning, he must have made one of the officers scrounge them up which, while still potentially just a nice gesture, feels like it has more potential for manipulation. More “Do the work for me so I can look good to the kid” rather than, “I heard Glynda had you in her clutches and brought cookies from home to soothe that :D”

Ruby never gives her passionate speech about wanting to help people like her parents taught her to and how Beacon is her plan to do that. So although the fandom has long assumed that Ozpin invited her partly due to her Silver Eyes—an assessment I agree with—that motivation feels far more prominent without Ruby overtly wanting to come. At least, she doesn’t tell Ozpin she wants to come. Now, instead of making Ruby’s wish come true (with the added benefit of assisting Ozpin’s war) Ozpin offers a place seemingly out of the blue, still putting some focus on Ruby’s combat skills, far more on those special, Silver Eyes. This feels like a recruitment now, not a benevolent gesture towards a family friend’s kid.

Going off of that, there’s no playful banter between Ozpin and Glynda about Ruby getting in early. This Ozpin has very little of the kind, fatherly energy of the webseries.

Finally, we see Ozpin talking to Tai afterwards and though Tai is quite taken with Ruby getting to skip two years, it’s not like Ozpin is asking his permission here. Sure, sure, we could get into the question of how much agency Remnant kids actually have—Blake’s parents are cool with her going off to Beacon after being missing for a time, no one is looking for Oscar, etc.—but the point is that twice, once before meeting Ruby and once after, Ozpin has the chance to offer Tai this opportunity for his daughter, but very overtly does not. He says that he will be speaking to Ruby. He says that she will be attending Beacon. He’s in control here.

The combination of this creates a far less approachable, more calculating Ozpin. AKA, the kind of Ozpin that RWBY failed to write, but the fandom insists is there in an effort to make the fury in Volume 6+ make sense. I’m not sure how I feel about it? On the one hand yeah, I’m glad to see IQ setting the stage for future reveals. This is an Ozpin who really might be puppeteering this war in a way the cast can be justifiably disgusted by. Yet on the other hand, it doesn’t feel much like Ozpin to me. Though small changes have been made to all the characters, they still feel like themselves (Klein being the exception). Ozpin though… there’s no interest in Ruby’s passion, no teasing Glynda, no intimacy with Tai. Seriously, go back and watch “Ruby Rose.” We’ve got Ozpin’s dad-like concern over Ruby using one of the “most dangerous weapons every designed,” his clear fondness for his “dusty old crow,” offering the cookies only after Ruby has explained herself a bit and her actually eating them (comfortable in his presence/trusting what he gives her), the eye-twitch when she talks with her mouth full, fond smile as Ruby gushes about her uncle, laughing a little at her karate chops, “adorable girl,” the very stern “You want to come to my school?” which forces Ruby to clearly state her own goals and desires (that oh so conveniently align with his), THIS

I mean, Ozpin is a dad. I feel like that’s a very crucial part of his characterization. He’s a romantic who settled down, had kids, does the stupid voices while reading his beloved fairy tales… and then his life went to absolute shit. He’s an exhausted dad who is still fighting because he believes wholeheartedly that the world is worth fighting for. He’s exactly the kind of guy who would bring a talented kid cookies and let her skip two years, all while ensuring her happiness benefits humanity somehow.

This guy feels like a creep—and that’s not just because of the weird doll features.

So good for the fandom, finally has a legitimately suspicious Ozpin to embrace? Yay IQ laying the groundwork for future plot-points? But as my favorite character, I wish we had Ozpin back. Especially since he’s only existed as an extension of Oscar for the past five Volumes, one everyone uses as a punching bag.

Maybe his characterization will change in the upcoming episodes? :(

We near the end of “Red, White, Black, Yellow” with a bit of additional worldbuilding slapped onto the trailer content. Weiss learns from Winter that there are hard rules to their totally-not-magic system—“Your Aura can only take a direct attack once or twice at most. The moment you’re hit, you’re finished”—and that’s reiterated by Glynda to Ruby: “Is your Aura strong enough to stop every bullet they fired?”

Cue me CACKLING at, like, every single RWBY fight ever. Will IQ do what the webseries couldn’t and actually stick to its own rules? We’ll have to see…

Blake is off in a… barn? Some isolated place with a bag of supplies now. She gets her admission notice from Beacon and I have to wonder when she took that exam. Was it before she left Adam, thereby making her leaving him feel a little less random? Was it after her escape and she’s been, what? Just running through grimm infested territory since then, popping into Beacon once for a quick test? Why didn’t she ever go home?? Yeah, there are still aspects that don’t quite add up for me. Regardless, Blake gets teary and says that now she’s really able to follow a “different path.”

Klein sends Weiss off with faith that she’ll carry on the legacy of Master Nicholas Schnee and, after Ruby tells Tai that she’ll make a ton of friends at Beacon (that’s a change in characterization), we finish with them all boarding the same transport. We then get a really lovely moment where both Weiss and Blake stare at their reflection on opposite sides of the ship, mustering up a smile.

Watching OFMD grow as a fandom these last few months, I’ve gotten to see a lot of people question certain fandom trends that have popped up, including asking, “Wait, people ship that?” Ignoring for the moment that you obviously don’t need a reason beyond, “I like it,” we can usually pinpoint why fans end up liking that particular duo (or trio). The important takeaway here is that it doesn’t take much—at ALL—to spark that interest. This moment is a perfect example of that. Blake and Weiss are set up to parallel and contrast one another. One is the rich heiress harming the faunus. The other is the (right now reading as) poor faunus fighting the heiress. They’ve got that Romeo and Juliet potential—two houses not meant to join—and yet we also see, right here, that they’re so much more alike than either will initially believe. They’re separated now, haven’t yet met, are literally on opposite sides of the transport, and yet they both go through the exact same motions of sighing in relief at making it in time, catching sight of themselves in a reflective surface, considering who they are, and then smiling. There’s so much potential there! We in the RWBY fandom know that Bumbleby and White Rose are the two heavy-hitters, but right now Weiss hasn’t met Ruby and Blake hasn’t met Yang. I guarantee that if IQ were its own show and we were waiting a week for the next, totally original episode, fans would be all over Monochrome as the primary ship. It would have sunk its teeth into the community from that alone and even if IQ went the way of RWBY, splitting them up and starting numerous moments of other shipping potential (Weiss slowing coming to care for Ruby, Yang opening up to Blake, etc.) there’s a good chance that Blake/Weiss would have hung on like whoa, just from this moment and a week of theorizing alone. Never doubt the power of fans to imagine up the most epic romances from a single, thematically loaded shot.

We’re given our first glimpses of Jaune (vomiting), Nora (hanging onto Ren), Ren (suffering, but he likes it), and Pyrrha—taking up most of the screen as Salem says that “even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die.”

I can’t go through this again 😭

At least that’s a WAY better introduction for Pyrrha than being Jaune’s background, quirky girl...

And, of course, we end on a close-up of Ruby as Ozpin talks about small sparks and simple souls igniting the most change.

(I’m sorry she looks so creepy here hOW IS THAT NOT A MURDER DOLL??)

So, just to summarize, there's really good character work throughout this episode. Not only are the introductions tighter and better interwoven with Remnant's worldbuilding, but IQ does a decent job of setting up future themes, conflicts, and — if the plot circles back to canon — foreshadowed events like Pyrrha’s death. Basically, this is what happens when you take your story through another draft. This is RWBY with an eye towards what did and didn't work the first time around.

Yet for all that praise... I have to admit that a certain spark is missing. Yes, the animation is so much better, but as said, there's something charming about RWBY's janky movements and shadow people. Yes, the characters' introductions fit more neatly into the story-world now, but it was exciting to get individual action trailers, unsure at first how they would develop into a plot-driven narrative. No, there's no reason to waste time on silly things like Jaune being Vomit Boy, but the lack of stupid humor in this premiere makes me feel like a crucial part of RWBY is missing. There's no disappearing cookies, or Ruby being chill about Yang kicking men out of club windows, or karate chops, or (and this is a real travesty imo) a cringey "Can I have your autograph??" towards Glynda. Maybe it's that we're nearly a decade out from the original air date and tastes have changed, or maybe it's just straight up nostalgia on my part, but for however good IQ is so far, it doesn't feel like it has the same heart that RWBY did — and I don't think it's capable of recreating that. RWBY was a specific storm of Monty + 2013 + the appeal of a group of fans doing something fun in their basement over something objectively "good," and who knows what else thrown into the mysterious pot of success. You literally can't recreate that, especially when so much of RWBY's fanbase are adults now, unable to return to their teenage years — or even just the eight years younger version of themselves if they were adults the first time around — and the headspace of when they first fell in love with the story. That doesn't make IQ bad by any means (and it may well get its own fanbase of first-time viewers). I really enjoyed this first episode... but I enjoyed it in the way I enjoy lots of other well-made, but kinda generic anime. Without it already being a RWBY story and without RWBY having caught my imagination back when it did, I don't think I would have gotten hooked on IQ in the same way. The premier is good, arguably far, FAR better than "Ruby Rose" ever was, and yet, whether due to time, nostalgia, or something else entirely, RWBY still feels like it comes out on top. It’s just got... something that IQ lacks.

Not that it's a competition, of course, though certain members of the fandom seem to believe quite strongly that it should be. More because they’d like a built-in reason to drag anyone with a criticism of IQ/RWBY than because they actually believe two versions of a story can’t co-exist.

But I digress.

With that, we've completed "Red, White, Black, Yellow"! At a measly 6,000 words, no less. (I’m apologizing now for the inevitable typos. It’s past 1:00am now and I can’t read through this again...) As is abundantly obvious, these recaps take a long time to write and this sneak peek has, quite unexpectedly, dropped the equivalent of three weeks worth of RWBY content into my lap all at once. Normally I'd have no problem buckling down to write the next episode, but I have a number of fic commitments at the start of July that I can't afford to ignore. So writing time will be going towards those, first and foremost, with me continuing to work on Ice Queendom on the side. I hope to have the next episode recapped in the next few days — at the latest — but that depends entirely on how kind the writing Gods are to me this week.

So stay tuned and, as always, thanks for reading! <3

MurderOfBirds' Twitter Thread: https://twitter.com/MurderofBirds_/status/1540414268457340928

#RWBY #RWDE #mymetas #rwby: ice queendom #rwby recaps

[rosyjuly]

if those are @prettydangrotten's thoughts about charlottee what are yours professor july? i miss prince of wales george and even want to hear about his straight adventures!

PROFESSOR JULY anon are we on a last name basis? let me know! i'm not sure what's the appropriate gender neutral way to address you - should we go with devotee?

the secret behind prince au is that gabby and i share a collective hive mind. haters will call it a google docs... every ask gabby answers i'm in the pitlane whooping and cheering with those huge headphones on or waving the chequered flag. here's 5 thoughts on charlotte though:

she's very smart -- has a degree in History from Oxford, wrote her dissertation on the socioeconomic effects of the industrial revolution on textile manifacturing

she's really into horses and especially three day eventing -- george was never really a fan of the latter but will go to her tournaments as support when he can (read: when harrison clears his calendar and makes him go to ONE day out of the three). they like riding out together in the countryside: it's peaceful, birds chirping and the thumps of hooves on the leaf litter. they don't talk. the air is crisp. (george always comes back thinking, yeah, this won't be that bad)

she has a younger sister and an extensive friend group from like-minded noble and rich women and they go on girls' trips 2-3 times a year and post about it on insta saying "much needed trip" (most of them don't have actual jobs)

unlike george, she does enjoy hunting (the only way to bond with her tory father tbh)

she enjoys historical films and loved The Last Duel (which i do recommend to everyone btw)

#everyone should watch the last duel and then talk to me about it ty #charlotte #who's apparently getting her own tag now? #prince au #rosy.ask

[hoolay-boobs]

would you happen to know if nate stevenson ever confirmed glimmer & bow to be bi specifically (like she did with catra & adora being lesbians), or just not straight? don’t get me wrong, i know they’re bi4bi and i’m not dismissing that, but i’m just curious because i feel like if it wasn’t explicitly stated and they weren’t in a wlm/mlw relationship, everyone would be headcanoning glimmer as a lesbian and some would probably want bow to just be a butch lesbian too 😭😭😭 i’m not even saying it happens in this fandom cause idk tbh but i’ve seen it happen so many other times with bi sapphic characters (i.e. poision ivy ofc)

also like… this is probably gonna make #somepeople without proper reading comprehension mad just by misinterpretation of what i’m actually trying to say here but i often presume writers mean “lesbian” as in “sapphic” since the latter isn’t as well known — like, they use it as an umbrella term regardless of whether that’s (historically) correct or not. my prime example would be caitlyn and vi from arcane; i’m absolutely okay with them being lesbians and i’m not erasing that fact at all but i think it’s worth keeping in mind that they weren’t confirmed by riot to be exclusively homosexual/wlw/“nmlnm”/etc. even though they may or may not very well be (i personally agree that they are). it’s another case of the google dictionary being unreliable because it relies on uneducated cishet ideas of queerness + terms so it simply defines “lesbian” as “wlw” (not even inclusive of nonbinary people) and “sapphic” as “relating to lesbians” or something like that.

anyway! sorry for making this too long, i had some thoughts but ended up ranting lol

Nate said “definitely not straight” specifically! I know that’s not the same as saying word for word “they’re bisexual”, but within the context, of both the show, and how neither of them are gay/lesbian, neither of them are aroace, saying “not straight” confirms them to be bisexual!

IMO, since bisexuality is more common and is the blanket statement under pan, omni, poly, etc. when a character is shown to be attracted to 2+ genders, they’re canon bi- now it’s up to the writers or the context of the show to specifically state whether the character is pan or anything else under the bi umbrella :) and it’s the same way in real life! If you want to discuss being attracted to 2+ genders, you will sound bisexual, unless you specify you’re pan etc underneath the bi umbrella

And here are the sources!

I KNOWWW fandom wikia is a sh💕t source, but they actually have the livestream itself to back it up! (Warning: it’s 4 hours long lol)

Chase lmao Vi and Caitlyn ARE specifically confirmed to be lesbians, not just sapphic. They are indeed exclusively homosexual wlw. The riot and league of legends twitter page had them with the lesbian flag (the new one, like the orange, white, pink one) so yeah. And this is official art; not like that fanart of Bubbline with the lesbian flag that Cartoon Network used for some godawful reason when they’ve both (or at least Marceline, and possibly Bubblegum) shown attraction to men. You are right about how some people have no reading comprehension skills tho. Like when Willow Wilson said that the latest Poison Ivy run would be loved by fans of lesbian stories and a good portion of readers jumped on that and ran with it and said that Ivy is their “canon” lesbian like uh? Ivy who wants to touch Batman’s pecs Ivy? Ivy who dated (and liked) a boy in college Ivy? Like the discourse around her is just starting to become funny to me now tbh tbh

LOL who would be headcannoning Bow as lesbian? He showed attraction to Sea Hawk, not really open to interpretation, it was quite obvious. I have tho seen him be headcannoned as gay and like. He’s soooo in love with Glimmer that gay headcannon is tone deaf lol.

No need to apologize! You can rant to me anytime :)) Thanks for the ask Chase 💙💜

#beloved mutual #chase please send me more longass rant asks I love them /gen #I’m being serious 💕 #send me paragraphs about queer characters #no pressure tho #mutuals #glimbow #bisexual #bi representation #poison ivy #league of legends #piltover’s finest #she ra and the princesses of power #she ra #spop #thanks for the ask! 💝 #answered asks #asks

[starryelem]

I feel like I should introduce someone. . . Oh yeah! Meet;

West "Cyphertext" Bradford

West is the ship child between Hacker and Blue.

He was created like- 4 weeks ago by me and my best friend @unagidevi !

As any ship child between a main character and a side character,you gotta give him some trauma but the bad thing is that his parents are nice and he has a pet cat. So that’s no place to put trauma,so . . . We chose to make the others give him trauma. And by others I mean other ship children.

Now to some fun facts or stuff you should know to be able to use West with ease

•When too emotional he will have blocks fall out of his eyes like they are tears but it is quite painful so unless he actually cries he will be in complete pain.

•When very happy,West will jump up and down clapping his hands in joy and delight.

•West likes to keep things that used to belong to his parents as a way to always feel safe when he isn’t around them or is alone. Examples; Googles that used to belong to Hacker, Hacker’s jacket, earrings Blue always used to wear (Hacker doesn’t mind giving his stuff to West but Blue doesn’t have much to give)

•West almost always is smiling,even when crying.

•West is pansexual,but he prefers men a lot more then woman and other (I’m talking 97% men and like 1.5 woman, 1.5 other).

•Unlike Hacker and Blue,he isn’t straight up with his flirting and instead tries to do thoughtful things to make the person like him. But he is still HELLA dirty minded in many ways and will sometimes express it and make jokes.

•West drives a motorbike but no one (except his parents) knew about it until he started dating Icterid and felt more confident.

•West isn’t manipulative and instead he’s quite kind and willing to help,he does get tired when you keep annoying him to help you so he might hurt you without you noticing (as in plan for you to do a mistake and so on)

•West is a simp,probably the biggest one to exist since he would sacrifice himself just for his lover no matter what the cost is. He also doesn’t see red flags and no matter how much he gets hurt by his lover,he will still love his lover

•When stressed,West gets these light blue and light green lines running down his back,they burn and basically feel like he’s getting cut over and over. Not only that but little blue and green blocks appear as well,on his hands,arms, face and basically everywhere else,these blocks itch and when you touch the little area of skin they are on,they will start to bleed.

•West has scars from past bullying by Nelson (Nightmare x Error ship child) and Ictred (Finch x Ink ship child)

•West LOVES Ictred and no matter how many times he gets rejected by him,he always runs back to him and forgives him.

•West loves his parents,he would rather blame himself for their mistakes then blame them.

•West cares for his looks,staying fit,making sure his heath is stable and not pushing his body too much are standard practices.

•West apologizes a LOT,even when it isn’t his mistake let alone a mistake.

•When West uses too much magic(to open portals and so on) his eye starts glitching and his memory becomes blurry and he can’t remember anything. That’s why he has a whiteboard in his room and a 24/7 working reminder app.

•West can’t lie under pressure,his backs will get those strings and if he’s really stressing he will starts glitching.

•West doesn’t hate or like blood,if it doesn’t touch him,it’s alr.

•West loves spicy food,just feed him jalapeños if he’s upset with you.

•West loves physical affection,it’s a must on a daily basis.

All and all,West is polite,you just gotta think 'what would someone who believes people change after one mistake do?' And you got West.

His relationship with Icterid (who he is a duo with) has a lot of development. Icterid used to date Nelson who is an asshole and saw joy in hurting West,after Ictreid finally noticed how toxic Nelson is and gathering some courage, he left him and that’s when the two started to get along.

West in flat colors

(Made by my good friend @unagidevi )

#dreamswap #dreamswap hacker #dreamswap blue #ds hacks #bluetooth #west cypher-text bradford #ds community

[aliceindaisychains999]

Here’s an ask for iron petals💖

I wonder if Dempsey would like to go skiing? it sounds really fun I got the chance to go once it’s extremely fun, also i wondering if he would enjoy exploring abandoning buildings or taking pictures or nature like be a photographer.

This sounds awesome! I love action-packed stuff and I’m sure he would too! He’d definitely give skiing it a shot! But I hope they allow snowboards for me. It’s no surprise that Dempsey would love to stay active because it’s great for his mind and also keeps his killer strength and endurance in great shape. I’d try to follow him as best I can down the hill. I know I’d be the one who’s just cruising down the snowy hills while he’s doing 360° turns and flips. He loves to show off what he’s made of, oorah! For some reason this came to mind when I started brainstorming bc I feel like he’d pull this stunt

I love making scrapbooks to each represent a chapter of my life. And because Tank and I are sharing our lives together, I wanted him to help me with my 3rd book. He usually suggests design ideas or points out great shots. Camping trips happen a lot so that’s always a great start! I think one of my favorite shots is where he was posing dramatically at a cliff spot where you could see the whole town from below. Tank said one of his favorite pictures besides the night sky (because it’s so much prettier without light pollution in the way) was one of me of a blue butterfly on my nose. Tank also hijacked a few of the google drive album of him making angry faces and goofing of. So now our scrapbook has a page of us with funny faces complimented with whatever memes we printed off the internet (half of his choices were freedom memes and edgy skeleton memes)

I always was fascinated with urban exploring, especially abandoned malls and any fun indoor entertainment places like Showbiz Pizza. Considering doing that was what lead me to be meet Dempsey, I asked him about it. He raised his eyebrow at me.

🧨Really? You didn’t learn your lesson the first time, huh?

🌻It’s not going to be government owned property this time! And we’ll be fine if we’re quiet enough

🧨Technically everything’s government owned. But I’m not gonna let you get hurt. I’d never forgive myself if I lost you or something.

🌻Honey, please? It’s only once

🧨Alright, I guess you’ll be fine with a big strong man protecting you.

And then he’s wrapping me in a hug bc he knows I melt easily. 💕💕💕

Aside from the mushy stuff, now comes our adventure: the mall! An old abandoned mall that went bankrupt around 2007. We slip in quietly through the back that apparently lead us straight into the food court. There were lights on the neon signs but we relied on flashlights for the most part.

🌻It’s pretty scary with the lights off.

🧨The scariest thing about this food court is that it’s got an Arby’s.

We took photos around as best we could with our phones and figured to use Lightroom on my computer at home to brighten it up. The best part was breaking into an FYE and finding out that not all the stuff was boxed up! Dempsey was thrilled. “Hell yeah! Free shit!” He told me to open my backpack up to store his looting of cds and whatever movies we could find for a blind movie night. “Hey, finder’s keepers. It’s not stealing if we can’t pay anyone, right?”

It was tons of fun overall! The only part that freaked him out was a bit of the graffiti because what I’d hope were teenagers sprayed some devil talk in the lowest level. He didn’t make it obvious but I could see in his eyes that the emptiness of the mall with that was making him uneasy. Oh! And we got a sunset shot on the roof of the mall but we had to make it quick before anyone could flag us. I’d never be able to do it again because of safety reasons according to Dempsey but it was still great we got to go.

🌻This was so much fun! Thank you, Tank *Hugs him and leaves a kiss on his cheek*

🧨Aww, quit butterin’ me up! You know I’d do anything for you, Maddie!

#thank you anon! #this was fun to brainstorm #IronPetals

[wetbloodworm]

i’ve got a google sheets of my OCs (linked in my pinned post) and i’ve added extra sheets broken up by storyline/universe/theme with a few more details. not fully filled out yet but i’m working on it, might be working on it a while b/c not all characters are decided and also i might add more sections. the charlie-parker-rhys-sparrow squad (need a better name for them, self-insert-adjacent is a bit wordy and also sparrow doesn’t fully fit that description) is in the ‘other’ section, and they’ve all got full names and birthdays now so here’s their bit

Bullet Points Time under the cut

again, i don’t consider sparrow a self-insert, but a decent amount of their characteristics follow the same patterns of those intended to be self-inserts. i’m including them in that group so they have to follow the patterns.

charlie, parker, and sparrow all have first and middle names that were names i considered picking for myself. i think the only names i’m missing from my list are max and toby but i accidentally stole toby for the dnd pc lmao. and max is a friend and i won’t steal their name

for rhys i just wanted all the names to be the same letter when i thought up ‘rhys ross’ so the two middle names are outliers. they do have a name set-up the same as mine, though! it’s ‘[first] [dad’s middle name] [birth middle name] [last]’. also my syllables for the first three names are ‘3 2 1′ and theirs are ‘1 2 3′.

all their surnames are picked from different aspects of my heritage, so charlie and sparrow have irish surnames, parker has a german surname, rhys has a scottish surname. ‘kinnegan’ has a connection to my mom’s maiden name, it’s not the exact name but they’re related. i would’ve done the same with parker’s surname but i’ve never been able to find a lot of info about my surname lmao so instead i just picked a name that’s fun to say. parker becker. i think i saw ross in a list of german names and liked the sound of rhys ross, and also i have a college friend with that surname, so it could be a combo of those two. sparrow’s surname was picked from irish surnames that sounded nice and also i saw the gaelic origin apparently has ‘not loving’ in it and that feels appropriate

all four are nonbinary without any specifications/microlabels. charlie and sparrow use ‘they’ exclusively, parker and rhys primarily use ‘they’ but are also comfortable with ‘it’ and ‘he’ respectively and include those when asked their pronouns (if they feel safe). the projection here is I’M nonbinary without any microlabels and I use ‘they’ kinda-exclusively but am comfortable with ‘it’ and ‘he’ is alright, although i don’t include them when asked pronouns. they’re not official.

pronouns aren’t color-coded because pronouns aren’t inherently gendered and i have no other associations so the colors would just be arbitrary and that bothers me.

(for the gender section: pink for women, blue for men, yellow for any kind of nonbinary person. nonbinary used to be purple but i didn’t necessarily like having it like... be a middle ground between the male and female colors... the stereotyped colors for the binary genders aren’t necessarily great either but like. it’s easy at a quick glance. i don’t have to actually read the text to get it immediately.)

broke up the orientation and aspec section b/c i got enough aspec kids that i need to specify, and also i wanted to color-code the orientation section and it got messy when everything was combined. couldn’t decide whether to color ‘bi + demiromantic’ as blue for bi or green for aro-spec, y’know? and it’d get worse if i made different colors for all the combinations.

(for orientation: red for gay, blue for bi and pan and bi/pan, gray for straight. for both sections: orange for aroace-spec. for aspec: purple for ace-spec, green for aro-spec, gray for allo. all colors picked from their various flags! i wasn’t sure if i should split up gay men and lesbians, i might but i’d have to change multiple colors and eugh. eugh!)

SO YEAH this squad is all aroace-spec, the first three ARE self-insert adjacent and i just can’t fully relate unless they’re some kind of aroace-spec. and sparrow just needed to fit the pattern. parker is just aroace, not anywhere in the gray, and rhys only labels their aspec identity without specifying the gender/s they’re potentially attracted to. charlie and sparrow both DO specify and ID as bi/pan alongside aroace-spec. i briefly considered making sparrow full aro + ace like parker to even that up but i overthink and i’ve occasionally seen a tendency to make Bad Characters effectively or explicitly aroace or aroallo because they are Evil And Can’t Love Because Love Is Pure And Good. even if they’re not my only aroace representation that’s just something i’m very conscious of so i try to avoid it. of course there’s nothing wrong with shitty characters having any orientation, i just don’t want there to be any accidental patterns with my OCs.

height isn’t fully arbitrary, i was (APPARENTLY PAST-TENSE) 5′6″ so charlie and parker are that height, and then i APPARENTLY LOST AN INCH AT SOME POINT so rhys is 5′5″. and i just wanted sparrow to be very slightly taller so they’re 5′7″.

birthdays also aren’t fully arbitrary! charlie has my birthday. i was born a month premature so parker was born exactly a month later. i also tried to be born VERY EARLY, idk exactly when and i don’t want to explain to my mom why i want to know, so rhys is a little older. chose the 15th at random. well actually i chose the 15th because that’s a tax deadline so when i picked march that’s the first date that came to mind. sparrow just has charlie’s birthday backwards lmao

charlie and parker are the only ones with nicknames so far, and as i’ve mentioned before those are pet names they’ve given each other to play up to the bit of people thinking they’re a couple and also because they’re very close and affectionate.

#charlie tag #parker tag #rhys tag #sparrow tag #reference tag

[melancholiaenthroned]

dc pride ratings

Super Pride (Jon Kent): 2/10

it sucked so bad… no idea why it was the first in the book bc it definitely prepares you for disappointment. damian came across as homophobic, jon wore a straight pride flag, and jay barely did anything. the art was lovely but overall it just sucked.

Confessions (Nubia): 8/10

frankly i dont read a lot of nubia stuff so i cant speak to characterization but i really enjoyed this one! gorgeous art and very fun and silly story, i so wish there had been just a bit less action and more of her and and Io. will probably read some of her solo stuff after this because she seems great.

Think of Me (Connor Hawke): 10/10

im not a connor hawke fan or arrow fan in general, but oh my god this comic was so good. actually about the characters relationship to his sexuality! fun action scenes and villain! i really liked the music metaphor i thought it was well done. and damian wasnt homophobic in this one! also loved the art style a lot.

Up At Bat (Alysia Yeoh): 9/10

you love to see her again! hope dc actually commits to using her in more stuff now. the story was fun and i like that theyre setting her up as a vigilante. my only issue is a bit of a nitpick with the art, i just dont really like how the bat moves when she uses it haha. it looked curved and therefore looked like it hit weaker. i really liked the message tho and related to the feeling of just. fighting the same battles forever and never getting anywhere. dont know how much i relate to the “beat up supervillains instead” solution but its comics so. duh.

A World Kept Just For Me (Jackson Hyde): 9/10

i dont read a lot of aquaman, but ive heard that they drew his boyfriend skinner in this comic than he normally is, which, upon googling him. yeah. so point off for that. other than that is has got to be one of my favorites. the art and atmosphere is gorgeous and i love the different color palettes between the underwater scenes and the above water ones. i think the story was very very cute and nice and the ending was sweet.

The Gumshoe In Green (Jo Mullein): 8/10

LOVE the noir detective vibes. possibly the funniest instance of biphobia in the world. unfortunately also the most confusing. were they planning to eat her or fuck her? were they bisexual? not really being clear on that sort of lessened the punch of the story for me but frankly it doesnt really matter when the art and vibes are this good.

Public Display of Electromagnetism (Ray Terrill): 7/10

i have no idea who this guy is so that probably effects my ranking. i was bored! who are these people? for ray fans this was probably a big win but i literally have never even heard of him before reading this. i liked his internalized homophobia. that was different from the rest of the stories in this book where it seemed like everyone already was completely happy and secure in themselves. but unfortunately he got over in like a minute so i didnt really feel like it was anything other than cheap conflict. however maybe if ur a ray fan this is like, really deep for him. idk. the art was fine but i didnt love it either. very good light/magic effects but the ppl looked a bit odd. not to pit gay ppl against each other but they couldve put a midnighter and apollo story here instead.

Bats in the Cradle (Kate Kane): 6/10

literally the opposite of the last one. i love kate i read a ton kate so this… like ive heard it all before. this is nothing new. also i hate her dad so i dont care that hes proud of her. i wish it was more kate and her own self acceptance rather than her fathers but i guess they did that last year. and god last years kate story was so fucking good. art was fine and kate looked rlly good when she finally showed up.

INTERMISSION: Ghostmaker splash page: 10/10

is he kidnapping that guy? ok. sure. so confusing bc it genuinely looks like he just swooped in and stole this dude but thats also hilarious so.

Special Delivery (Tim Drake): 9/10

ok as tumblr user bernarddowd you can all guess by stance on comic character bernard dowd. hes perfect to me. i love that he acts and looks more like his 2004 self. i wish he had scars from his pain cult but when have comics remembered scars. i wish he had been there more! less tim. get ur bf on page. tim was fine tho ig. they can get away w not kissing in this story bc i figure they will in the tim drake pride special.

The Hunt (Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn): 10/10

very sweet and funny story. love their insane sex life. i love love love the romance manga art style and the color palette. surprised that it doesnt seem related at all to poison ivys new series but i guess theyre broken up in that so it makes sense. and i will always love to see jester harley even if shes an evil hallucination or whatever.

Are You Ready For This (Jesse Quick): 7/10

too much happened in too few pages, but that could be seen as a meta commentary on their powers? no i idea what goes on in teen justice so just reading this it seems like raven gets hit on and then gets so embarrassed hes like “i can NEVER join teen justice” but im sure he must be talking about something else. felt less like a pride story and more like pride as a setting which isnt a bad thing but it also felt less like a jesse quick story and more like a story where jesse quick was there, which, again, i think is just cause too much stuff was going on. still had fun w it.

INTERMISSION 2: Galaxy and Dreamer splash page: 10/10

WOOOO cheering forever. literally just read Galaxy last night and i LOVED it. never saw supergirl but Dreamer’s actress’s foreword was very nice so im a fan. they look very cute here together.

Finding Batman: 10/10

save the best for last. very touching and upsetting and real. glad for the more nonfiction stuff in this and im so glad that he was able to tell his story through dc. definitely deserves to be the most talked about part of the anthology and it is (other than homophobic damian).

#do not get on me for this #long post #dc #poison.txt

[casspurrjoybellbittner]

Wreckless - Sleeping Pills

*Warning Adult Content*

Emmett

I need to google these medications right now.

Finnegan says they're new which is good, my first thought was that he'd lied about his test results or maybe had found something else out in Michigan.

I can't help it, my brain just went there.

I know it's stupid but it did.

He said new but he's being really feisty and I can't expect a straight answer out of 'Finn'.

I needed Finnegan.

Okay this one is for... anxiety.

Not a super high dose, but still.

'Finn' wanders out of the bathroom and crawls under the covers.

I just need one more second.

Okay, the second bottle is a sleeping pill.

I sit down on the edge of the bed when I realize that he hasn't been sleeping better, he's just taking pills so he can rest.

I have no doubt that the anxiety medication is for the same reason, the break-in.

He's freaked out at my house so he's taking pills to help. Shit.

"Finnegan?"

"I can't," he whispers, only his face sticking out from the covers. I put my hand on his leg.

"Can't what, darling? We need to talk."

He sits up and takes a deep breath but he's not looking at me.

Another breath, then a few sniffles.

"Finnegan?"

"What?" he snaps.

"Fine, we'll talk. The pills are for me, to help me..."

"Sleep," I answer.

"Yeah. I couldn't keep," he sighs, then tries again.

"I couldn't not sleep anymore, Emmett. I was... I have to run a company. BUILD a company and I can not do that when I'm exhausted. I called my family physician in Michigan and he prescribed me something. They help and it's no big deal."

It is a big deal... it is a huge deal.

"I thought you were doing better."

"I am."

No, that's not what I meant.

This is so frustrating.

"I don't want you taking pills to feel better, Finnegan."

He's shaking his head.

"You don't strike me as one of those anti-vac, homeopathic only folks, Emmett. Seriously?"

Fuck me with a flag pole.

"That's not what I meant."

Is he not listening or am I not speaking English?

"Pills are great, lots of people need them. You, however, don't need them. What you need is to feel safe and be comfortable in your own damn house."

Which is my job... my fucking job.

He's taking pills so I can stay in my house.

Now it's my turn to sigh.

"I wanted to be with you, Emmett."

When I look over at him I almost break into tears.

He looks so sad and vulnerable... horribly sad.

He's tired and weary and sad and it's my fault.

"Come here," I ask, offering him a hug and some snuggles.

I need it too.

"No, I can't. Not right now, please."

Ouch.

"Alright. So..."

There's only one option, really.

We have to move.

He's not okay like this and even though I don't want to leave my house.

I won't need pills if I do.

He needs a home and if he's willing to do all that to be with me, the least I can do is rent out my place.

"We'll move."

"You don't have to move out of your home, Emmett. I'm okay, I mean... I don't want to push you."

"Don't tell me you're okay when you're not. Finnegan. I feel like we just bend over backwards to make each other happy and that's not a bad thing but it sometimes seems like we're just making things harder. You should have told me about the pills last week. Instead I thought you were doing better. You started sleeping and..."

"And it made you happy. I got some sleep and you didn't worry so much. Maybe I won't need them in another month or two."

He's right, he's not going to need them.

"I'll rent my rowhouse out. I'll talk to Mrs. Lewis, she may know somebody."

"Safer to use a rental agency. I just don't want you to get screwed over. If it doesn't rent right away or the rent doesn't cover the mortgage and taxes and stuff I can make up the difference."

Why argue now?

There's no way I can go into this without letting him spend whatever he wants to on me.

My mortgage probably isn't much more than he spent on this room tonight, it really isn't a big deal to him and I need to let it go.

What I need is to fuck him into next week.

Even better, for him to fuck me into next week.

Why didn't I find the pills later?

Tomorrow?

God I'm pent up and it's my own fault.

My balls hate me right now. 

I want to give him a protein shake at the very least but he doesn't even want a hug right now so I doubt he wants to swallow my cock.

He's staring at me, probably wondering what kind of a freak I am.

Who gets hard now?

I need shorts.

"I have no idea what you're thinking," he says.

I don't blame him, I'm not really sure what I'm thinking either.

"Are you mad at me? Because I can't just get over some guy breaking in and you shooting a gun off in our house?"

"No. No. I'm pissed at myself and frustrated with the whole situation and really, really horny. It's not a good combination, I sort of want to scream or hit something but I don't do that stupid shit. Maybe I need to hit the gym."

I bet they have a really nice one here.

"Unless you want to make me scream?"

Shit, didn't really mean to say that out loud but hey, if he wants to I won't say no.

[riku-in-japan]

Day 18 Day of Return

After what was probably the worst night of sleep since I arrived in Japan, it was time to get up and go to the airport.

With only 3 hours of sleep, I was infinitely grumpy, angry with my bulky carry-on and... I directed it all to my husband. (Sorry!) I decided to repack my carry-on again, this time moving all the food to a seperate bag, so I was left with two somewhat bulky bags instead of one super bulky one... Which felt better.

Thankfully our trip to Narita Airport was a very straight one. Just get on the right metro, and it'll automatically turn into the Keise Sky Acces Line. Getting to the airport was no hassle at all, thankfully.

As announced the day before our flight would be leaving 45 minutes later than originally planned, but the arrival time should remain the same.

Suitcases were dropped off, customs inspections went pretty smoothly and... Then we were left with nearly 1.5 hour until boarding!

After going round the shops for a bit, we sat down at the gate and... waited. Then received a very helpfull announcement that sounded like our flight was delayed, because of a delay. But yeah, we already knew we were delayed, so who cares. Time of departure was still scheduled for 12.15 according to the screens.

Time passed and passed. Both me and my husband were called to the counter, because we both forgot to remove a power bank from our suitcases. (I'm pretty sure it was in there on the flight to Japan as well and it didn't get flagged then, but... Well...) Another announcement spoke off a delay of our flight, due to a traffic jam, but... The English was a bit broken, so I didn't really get it. Figured it must be really crowded in the airspace again, as it was on our day of departure.

Departure time was still scheduled for 12.15. But aven at 11.45, boarding had yet to start. Stranger even, the ground staff didn't seem to make any preparations for boarding either... It was only then that I noticed that, according to the screens, boarding would start at 12.20. Excuse me!? Boarding starts after departure!? What's going on. No updates were given, at all. Eventually a google search showed the latest update put our departure at 12.45,but none of that showed on the screens at the gate.

In the end, it turned out that the whole flight crew had gotten stuck in a 2 hour traffic jam on their way to the airport. So, in the end we left about 2 hours later than originally planned! And accordingly arrived a bit later too.

This probably was the first flight ever that did not return the usual route over land, but instead headed for Alaska, North pole and Greenland. Meaning we mostly flew above water.

It also surprised me how set they were on simulating a night, while it was very much a day flight on every sense. The immediately dimmed all lights after serving our very late lunch. Turned them briefly on for a midnight pasta meal. Then dimmed all lights again until about an hour before arrival. It completely threw me off! I did expect a couple hours of darkness for a quick nap, but not a whole flight! We left around 13.15 and we would arrive around 18.30. I get that you'd want to allow for some sleep, but... In essence it's just a really long day, no need to simulate a full night!!

I suppose this decision may have been the result of our unusual flight route, which would pretty much whip us through a night, instead of the usual extra long day with constant daylight, but... I'm pretty sure they could have turned the light on a bit sooner! By the time we arrived out was already completely dark outside...

Anyway, the flight went fine, up until maybe the last hour and a half, when nausea took over and... No eating would safe my life. Also, my mouth started drying up like no tomorrow and drinking water only seemed to make it worse. So, my flight pretty much ended a disaster, espacially once we started descending and my mouth was to dry to properly swallow and I couldn't keep up with the changing air pressure. Resulting in some painful ears. (Reminder, next time, bring chewing gum!)

Upon arrival, only one of the customs gates was open, and... A whole airplane needed to pas through. So, the line went painfully slow. They eventually opened up a second one, but... I was so exhausted by that point....I probably shouldn't have stuck to my plan to stay awake for the full flight. It would have worked had we left on the originally scheduled time, or if I had had a proper night of sleep beforehand, but...

My nausea subsided though, so that was nice. Until it came back in full force as my husband's father drove us home. I was suddenly so sick! Arriving home, I couldn't do anything but cry, and immediately went to bed. Had to get out to vomit. Except my whole stomach was apparently empty, so nothing came out. (When did I stop eating on that flight! I can't have been that long, right? Guess I messed up again...)

This vomit-no vomit situation repeated itself twice over the night. And I woke up the next morning still feeling nauseas. And terribly jet lagged.

I really need to learn to properly eat and sleep on my flights...

And thus ended my 2023 trip to Japan.

#japan 2023