25 March 2018

I'm Tired.


Truth is, I'm tired.

Silence is an exercise and that membership has been paid
Awakening again.
The best plans laid have been exposed for lies, after years of hearing the cries of the mistreated
You thought my silence meant I'd been defeated, but you missed the memo
Head down, not in fear or shame but unlearning, researching, relearning and growing

You think you know it all, but your fruit is all the proof I need to know
There's been the promotion of a lie that you're now willing to die for
But this argument that you continue to present, while you vent and assure me, I need to repent is the one rooted in deceit
And the tree planted at your feet, you're using for refuge will one day refuse to shelter you

And you wonder why I don't want to spend my time with you
And you ask why I removed my presence
My soul, my essence is worth protection and until you stop with this incessant rejection of facts you will not see me back
Because truth is, I'm real tired

Untold years of this misbehavior and I'm supposed to believe you suddenly really see me through the eyes of a Savior?
Whom you swear is also mine but somehow my sins are seen as a greater crime because, well...
Let's just say your understanding of diversity is limited because your actions tell me you want assimilation and my train doesn't have time for that station
I'm going to keep rolling on to find another location where the damnation of outcasts isn't seen the final culmination for their hopeless situations 

Where extortion isn't exacted weekly to make someone feel guilty because they chose the roof over their heads or to feed their family
Where who you know or how much you give doesn't earn you a seat at the table or access to the Members Only elitist culture that does more to separate than to satiate the need for reconciliation
Where a good amount of talk is done and names are dropped, making the actions done seem somehow cheap

Let me stop before I'm called out for calling out what I've seen, what I've been
But know, I see you, I know you, and I won't be afraid of you anymore
Because truth is, I'm real tired

And I'm trained, and my faith remains strong as ever
I'm tired but I'm clever and I'm going to continue to do the work given me to do
I'm tired but I'm chosen so I won't be frozen in place by the limitations you try to corral me with
Because I'm tired, I refuse to let the next generation burn themselves out before their time
I may be tired but I'm no fool
I may be tired but the passion of generations before me is my fuel
I'm tired but I'm going to fight because the moral majority was never right
And I've been given a light and a voice
I refuse to let the weight of that choice drain and demand everything of me
I'm going to live the life given me as carefree as I can be and hope to possibly inspire others to take their stand 

I'm tired because I carried the weight of your expectations for so long I was convinced it was my burden
But I'm no beast and my back won't be broken doing the labor for your child-like, selfish entitlement
Hear what I said and know what I meant
I am who I am and for that, I won't repent
You may soon see me again, but please know my friend the shadow of who I was won't ever be seen again

Truth is, I was tired but now I've been set free
I'm no longer sacrificing myself on your altar of gentrified piety

13 June 2017

RWBY Volume 4 Soundtrack Reaction: Like Morning Follows Night

BlackSun RWBY Tumblr

Wait! I see neither morning, nor night. What's happening here, Aisha? Well, nothing yet.

The RWBY Volume 4 Original Soundtrack & Score won't be released until June 16, 2017. So until then, no arguments about whether or not this song is another allusion to Black Sun (Eclipse). Of course, I totally think it is, just like "Not Fall In Love" from Volume 3. But I'm not here for ship wars as much as I am for music. 😁

All of that to say, my reaction will be available sometime within the next couple of weeks after release. In the meantime, if you haven't read the introduction, check out the first post. Make sure to grab your pre-order on iTunes or Amazon, or grab a hard copy in the Rooster Teeth Store when it's available.

Rock on, y'all!

RWBY Volume 4 Soundtrack Songs List

  1. Let’s Just Live
  2. Like Morning Follows Night
  3. Bad Luck Charm
  4. This Life is Mine
  5. Home
  6. Armed and Ready
  7. Lusus Naturae
  8. Bumblb
Lyrics on RWBY Wikia or Lyric Videos on FlyntofRWBYNation's YouTube.

RWBY Volume 4 Soundtrack Reaction: Let’s Just Live


RWBY Poster by kimmy77 on DeviantArt


These are my thoughts on “Let’s Just Live” from the RWBY Volume 4 Soundtrack. For more details on each of the song posts check out my introduction here. If you’re looking for a different song, hyperlinks at the bottom of the page will get you there quickly. Enjoy!

The RWBY Volume 4 Soundtrack Reaction Awakens

Many of the new songs for RWBY Volume 4 made a big impression upon me, but this one hit me right in the heart. I’ve loved “Let’s Just Live” from the first time I heard that opening drum and guitar drive, and this full-length version only reinforced my affinity for it.

It took me almost 20 minutes to get through the five-minute song, because I kept pausing so I could reflect or cry. Lately, I’ve struggled with the value of my life, if it has any meaning other than repeated failure. I’ve wondered why I keep trying, why do I keep fighting when life continues to dole out utter trash? I know, that’s just life. To see what’s happening all around the world and feel like there’s nothing I can do to help, to see friends and family struggle and not have anything to give; it’s tempting to want to give up. Incredibly tempting.

Hearing the anthemic declaration “Let’s Just Live” is just what I needed. I am ridiculously moved by words and music, so this is powerful to me.

The second verse continues to tell the story of Beacon’s favorite students and the challenges they’ve faced as the realities of life smacked them in the face. There are some moments here where matching the lyrical flow of the first verse get a little, interesting; but it doesn’t halt the experience.

By the time it gets to the breakdown in the latter half of the song, that’s exactly what happened to me. I paused as the tears ran down my cheeks. I listened to the words, more than a couple of times in that slowed down section.

I love the theatrical build of this song. It comes back with a powerhouse guitar solo and finishes with an altered chorus for the outro. Man, it is so good!


Final Thoughts on Let's Just Live

Life has its ups and downs, but we make decisions to get back up when we fall, to face the scary parts, to move forward even when we’re faithless or feel that everything has fallen apart. I really do love this song! Oh and the Easter egg in here - all aboard the Feels Express. Jeff Williams has my heart in his hands.

It’s not without its hiccups. There are parts where the mix seems weird, maybe it’s just my audio setup, but overall it’s a strong showing.

The RWBY Volume 4 Original Soundtrack & Score will be available June 16, 2017, and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon and iTunes. Hard copies are sure to be available in the Rooster Teeth Store.

RWBY Volume 4 Soundtrack Songs List

  1. Let’s Just Live
  2. Like Morning Follows Night
  3. Bad Luck Charm
  4. This Life is Mine
  5. Home
  6. Armed and Ready
  7. Lusus Naturae
  8. Bumblb
Lyrics on RWBY Wikia or Lyric Videos on FlyntofRWBYNation's YouTube.

RWBY Volume 4 Soundtrack Reaction: Beacon’s Ready to Bop!

Cover Art for the
RWBY Volume 4 Original Soundtrack & Score
The RWBY Volume 4 Original Soundtrack and Score has a release date of June 16, 2017 and four tracks are available for pre-order now on both iTunes and Amazon. Nothing in the Rooster Teeth Store yet, but as of "print" promotional social media has begun.

Yes, I downloaded the pre-order; darn my impatience when it comes to music! I wasn’t planning on a write up, but three minutes into “Let’s Just Live” that changed. Jeff Williams loves playing with emotions, I see.


RWBY Volume 4 Soundtrack: The Way My Reactions are Set Up

My RWBY Volume 4 Soundtrack reactions were written in the moment to capture the Oh My Gosh This is FINALLY Happening! of it. I paused long enough to write out how I felt or what I was thinking. I say this because there are sudden transitions, which I left unfiltered, because I hope it better captures the moment. I edited for grammar and, full disclosure, there are some spots where I went back to complete my thought.

The first paragraph for each song has my initial thoughts, based on what we knew from its appearance in the show, or in the case of “Bumblb” how much I think Jeff Williams loves trolling the fandom. Because, c’mon y’all know he had fun at the expense of BumbleBY shippers. I’m going to laugh if he later says it’s a ReNora song, or something crazy like that.

In addition to my reactions, I’ve added thoughts on the songs themselves, lyrics, production, musicality, etc. I don’t want to call it a legit review, but it’s as close as I get. As some of the reactions had quite a bit of content, I’ve split them into separate posts and provided links to navigate directly to each song.

When the full soundtrack is available, I’ll add the other four songs. Yes, I know full versions of “Armed and Ready” and “Lusus Naturae” already exist, but those aren’t final so I’ll wait. Y’all rock, thanks for stopping in. Click below to quickly move to the various recaps.


RWBY Volume 4 Soundtrack Songs List

  1. Let’s Just Live
  2. Like Morning Follows Night
  3. Bad Luck Charm
  4. This Life is Mine
  5. Home
  6. Armed and Ready
  7. Lusus Naturae
  8. Bumblb
Lyrics on RWBY Wikia or Lyric Videos on FlyntofRWBYNation's YouTube.

27 May 2017

RWBY Chibi Season 2 Episode 2 Recap - Who You Gonna Call?

*note: this review has potential spoilers if you’re not caught up with the main RWBY series*

Salutations! The title alone for RWBY Chibi Season 2 Episode 2, Geist Buster, begs for this post to be riddled with 80s references, jokes and slang. (You did read the title, right?) How can I fall for such a cheap trick? There’s a lot a material for a girl to work with, but I’ll try my best not to push it too far. Are you giving me the, “Whatchu talkin’ ‘bout Willis?” face yet? Surely you knew I would not resist. Surely. Let’s check out what the beautiful ones are up to in this week’s episode!


RWBY Chibi Lit up by Literature

Our first short, “Book Lovers” starts with the belle of the bookish ball, Blake, immersed in a good book. Enter the RY of Team RWBY. An “innocent” question leads to monumental joy from the usually somber Baewatch #1, who is convinced her teammates have finally converted into normal, book-loving people. Look at this sheer happiness!

Screenshot: Hello Happy Kitty!
She likes big books and she cannot lie, these other kittens can’t deny/ When she sees a thick spine, with a story that’s divine, she hits a yowl/ Kitty got stacks!
Now to be certain, the Xiao Long-Rose sisters are not to be trusted. Do they want to expand their minds? Of course not! Their cheeky chuckles are a dead giveaway there will be no enjoyment of the written word. Heathens! #smh #icant #wtf


Screenshot: Feel the wrath of Team Xiao Long-Rose

Yang may be Baewatch #2, but dafuq you doing boo? What did books ever do to you? At least she continues to embody Pun-kelman-senpai’s sense of humor. Anyone else expect a punny book title and pause the video? Your unlocked achievement reward was book titles, “How to Arm Yourself” and “Another Pun” thrown from Yang’s right hand. Pure, freaking comedic GOLD!

Additional book titles: Slave to the Sword, The Man With Two Souls, The Sais of Passion, How to Read and Write: Part 1

Just Monkeying Around

RWBY Chibi Season 2 continues to give us Sun, as he swings his tail into action in the bump. It made me think of the old Fairy Tail bumps with Happy. We move on to a saddened Neptune attempting to clean and polish his Vale Junior Detective badge, lamenting its inability to shine. (Yet another song in your head!)


This short, aptly titled “Shiny Badge” continues with some peanut butter, cheeky lines from Sun and a super cute Zwei… and that’s really all I can say about that. I mean Sun and Zwei, in the same shot, what else do you need? Also once you watch it #ewwwwgross!


Gutbusting Geistbusters

The next bump stars fan-favorite villain and master of the permanent hair flip, Roman Torchwick. I always thought he’d go out with a bang, but he got Attack on Titan’ed instead. But I digress.

Best girl is back with her Wile E. Coyote-esque signs. She’s neat, petite and cruelly sweet - it’s Neo!! The one person who can kick Baewatch #2’s butt and I won’t mind. In "Geist Buster", Torchwick is devising a nefarious scheme to end the girls called Plan G. A sneaky little poltergeist Grimm is sent on its way to wreak havoc. Hello maniacal, evil overlord laugh!

Blake is literally not having any luck with books today. Chibi Yang punching at the air in an attempt to fight stray books is cuter than it should be. And Snow Angel works Myrtenaster to try to lend a hand, but all of their efforts fall flat.

The Devious Duo go on to destroy “Little Red”, when they find her with the other favorite kitchen ninja, Ren! His perfect pancakes quickly become home to a new host, causing our heroes pain and leaving Roman to believe he’s finally won.

Until Nora, Ms. Steal Yo Scene casually enters the picture. I don’t know how Samantha Ireland gets through her lines, there has to be hours of outtake laughter. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, but Torchwick’s plans burn out, thanks to the Valkyrie.

Screenshot: Nora, the hero we all deserve.
All she does is win, win, win no matter what.


RWBY Chibi Season 2 Episode 2 Final Thoughts


RWBY Chibi Season 2 Episode 2 was super short at only 2:57. I laughed, on the first and third shorts and I was grossed out by the second one. Well, honestly I did laugh at Mr Cool not being able to keep up; I’m so mean! It’s not my favorite episode but it was solid, in my opinion. That may have to do with the large amount of Blake and/ or Yang screen time. You’ve probably noticed, they’re my faves.

The RWBY Chibi wardrobe styling is pretty freaking amazing! The attention to detail for all the characters is quite something. From the rich value of the ombre on Blake’s tights, to the vivid red ruffles on Ruby’s skirt and boots, to the brilliance of Yang’s emblem, transparency of the sheer on her skirt, to the little, bitty lavender bandana at her chubby knees, and the way Weiss’s patterns stand out, these animators must love what they’re doing! It’s also noticeable with Neo and Roman, with all the little markings we know so well from their 2D counterparts. Who else just thought of this guy?

What did you think of RWBY Chibi Season 2 Episode 2? Did the adorable Zwei gross you out? Is Nora your hero? Comments are open.


Adventure Points:
  • Puns are fun! 
  • Plan G Easter egg