#But they used it as an ending in Ice Queendom

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

book 7 part 10 thoughts!

***THIS POST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7 PART 10 OF THE MAIN STORY!!***

Please note: this is NOT meant to be a summary or a translation; these are only my initial thoughts on the events that roughly unfold. There may be details overlooked or misunderstood in this post, so PLEASE do not use this as a translation.

This update spans part 158 to part 191.

BAHAHAHAHAHA THEY'RE AT THE CORAL SEA (not "in" it yet, more like at the surface level of it) AND JAMIL'S ALREADY UPSET OVER THE LOCALE

Jamil comes up with the smart idea of using ice magic to make a boat for them all. Silver takes up the oars (how princely lmao) and Ortho praises the second years for being so reliable!

WEL;ANJFDBIUGSOGSBIAF THAT BOAT DIDN'T LAST LONG, LITERALLY ONLY A SINGLE PART BEFORE WE CAPSIZE????? We see a dark and gloomy place with an abandoned ship, similar to where Ariel was exploring in the opening of The Little Mermaid. The gang can breathe though, since Idia hacked in bubbles around each person to provide them with an air dome made of magic nanomachines.

THERE HE IS FELLAS, MERMAID FLOYD PULLED UP. Mmm, interesting?? He sounds really flat and bored, expressing that he no longer has an interest in land creatures since everyone was weak + so easily deceived by Azul. Floyd also seems to report that Azul has found success with Mostro Lounge...? And Jade is probably supporting him there.

Floyd tells us that he's been traveling Twisted Wonderland in his dream world. He's been to the Shaftlands (Fairest City??) to try out the latest fashion and model (but got bored because he was asked to work exclusively with the brand), worked part-time in a restaurant in the Sunshine Lands (but got bored because so many people wanted to eat his food), and exploring the Scalding Sands. Floyd wandered the desert and found a black magic lamp in the Cave of Wonders and decided to bring it home because Jade said "the teapot" would be nice to have. Floyd summoned the genie and used it to wish for delicious food, www

He mentions having plans to visit other places too, like the Queendom of Roses, Briar Valley, Sunset Savanna, etc. (Floyd's looking for a challenging opponent to fight!!) But now he has returned to the sea, even though he considers it boring too. Floyd basically tells them to fuck on off and then stares floating around depressingly.

Idia theorizes that Floyd must be "resetting" his dream again and again since Malleus has set the parameters to achieve a "happy ending". Since Floyd is constantly dissatisfied, the dream continues to scrounge for something that will please him. The happiness never really lasts long though. The group decides that they have to provide him with that strong foe he wants to shock him awake!

OH MY GOD Silver and Jamil just walk up to Floyd and tell him he’s in a dream. Of course he doesn’t believe them????? But then they start telling him stories of things that happened irl including clarifying what it was that Floyd had done to disrupt his own first year opening ceremony. Apparently he grabbed Riddle’s hair and went “oh, it’s bright red but it isn’t hot”, which led into a massive fight with Riddle shooting fire at him. The staff (specifically Vargas) had to hold Riddle back. There’s another story of how Floyd tried to fight Cater but Cater used his UM to hold Floyd back and bro wiped hard 💀 According to Idia, Malleus and Leona also beat Floyd in combat.

Jamil talks about how sometimes Floyd would find it hard to keep up with him and/or how Floyd would get in trouble for wailing on the younger kids in their club. The headmaster wasn’t happy and made Floyd clean up the gym for a week

Wh A t😭 Grim recalls how Octavinelle made us HOMELESS in book 3 (and then how they got their asses beat BUT I’M BAWLING AT THE AUDACITY)

The dream manifests a fake Jade and Azul to drag Floyd deeper… We finally get a non-OB octoform Azul to look at!!

They goad Floyd and say he shouldn’t lose to land creatures, so beat them back and then the three of them can live peacefully in the sea together. Silver warns Floyd not to listen to the fake Jade and Azul, but he ends up not needing their help??? Instead Floyd blows up at the fakes and claims Jade and Azul would never say such boring things. Like, he actively gets SO pissed off that they’re borrowing their faces and voices to try and deceive him 😭

They tell Floyd about what’s going down and he’s delighted??? He starts calling out locations and the dream responds to it, he thinks it’s so interesting. Idia and co. panic because this spike in activity could alert Malleus OTL

They theorize that Jade’s dream may take place in the mountains, so Floyd should change into a land form.

When they change to Jade’s dream, Floyd praises Silver’s UM. Silver is flattered but Jamil is thanking the stars that someone mindful like Silver has Meet in a Dream and not Floyd. He says Floyd would probably abuse the UM and give people nightmares lmao

Now they’re in a part of the Coral Sea that has tons of underwater volcanos. Floyd saves us all from a blast of black smoke from one of the vents. Idia warns the air domes are not strong, so one blast from the smoke could drown them all.

Floyd suggests Idia make merforms for everyone. However, Idia says it’s hard to do, especially on a short time frame, since he lacks data on merpeople.

OOOOOH Floyd reveals his bioluminescence!! Looks so pretty aaaaaaah ✨ (He calls it “counter illumination”?)

J WORD SiGHTING

OOOOOH I GET IT, the volcanic vents are like the sea’s equivalent of “mountains”. He and dream!Azul are exploring this area looking for a gold mine or something. Interesting that Jade dreams of still assisting Azul for fun…

sguaddr(dFacFFh ??!!\!]]!£]!] AZUL????? He got hit by a blast from the vent while casting magic on it to get to some gold ore he spotted. Jade gets a good laugh out of it.

WHO THE FuCK ARE yoU, WhY Sre your eyes SO Big AnD WAtERY

Azul tearfully declares he won’t give up and Jade gases him up 😭 YOUR DREAM IS TO BULLY AND ENABLE HIM??????? WOW J WORD

Floyd claims he would never go mountain climbing with Jade but then—

WhAT YHR fUVkinh FVkkkKKKKKKKKKK

THAT’S DREAM!FLOYD?????!!?!!! HE LOOKS SO FRIGHIn DERPY 😭 😭 😭 BRo JUST StARTS EATINg SHRIMP AnD HAPPILY GOING AlONG WiTH wHatEVEF JAde AsAyS

Floyd gets pissed off seeing all of this and goes in for the attack. Everyone panics, but Jamil pulls a Silver book 7 part 9 and basically tells them to let Floyd cook 💀

Dream!Azul of course tries to convince Jade that Floyd is dumb and cute and everything, not some THUG cbjssbkwebodnxsk Jade is convinced that “this” Azul and Jade would use useless without him so he buys dream!Azul’s lies. FLOYD GETS MORE ANGRY THRymRE GONNa BRaWLLLLLLL

Uhhhh so fighting doesn’t wake Jade up. Idia suggests this is because while Jade doesn’t have a particularly strong imagination, he’s good at exploring possible scenarios within himself…? Not sure if I totally understood the wording here (I’ll have to double check with other sources later), all you gotta know if that punching was ineffective. ***Edit: It’s because (according to Idia), Jade has a strong belief in himself.***

OH, WORM??? J WORD AnD FKOYD ArE mAKinG HISSING NoiSES At eaCH OYher As THEY FIGHT (the NPC Azul and Floyd are busy cowering in a corner) 🍿 I believe it was previously said in a voice line or some vignette that when the twins fight, they get VIOLENT and it’s kinda funny we get to see it on-screen now.

Sebek gets the idea to stop both of the twins’ movements with his UM. (Very thoughtfully, he warns everyone, particularly Ortho, to stand back before he casts Living Bolt.) It works very well because salt water conducts electricity better than distilled water!! I think that helps Jade with realizing something’s off because right when dream!Azul and Floyd rush to him, Jade points out that the real ones wouldn’t call him “cute” and such.

WHoa WHOA, sCARY hot

Aaaand we got two eels added to the party! Onward to Azul’s dream~ (jxbsksvxiwnw J WoRD THROWS uP)

We’re underwater again! Jade theorizes it must be because Azul has expanded the Mostro Lounge into a worldwide chain, since Azul has expressed the desire to run a successful restaurant business like his mother.

We hear cheering, it seems to be from a Coral Rush (underwater ball) game. It’s similar to Magical Shift, but instead of brooms you ride on the backs of dolphins. Coral Rush is popular among merfolk!

WhAT

If I was drinking something then I would be spitting it up right now because WhY IS AZUL AN ATHLETE (If I’m understanding this correctly, he’s playing for a Coral Rush team called Golden Trident? And he’s the LEADER) 😂 I guess maybe because he’s been insecure about this weakness of his…?

MAN. Jamil is going to bully his ass later about this, I just KNOW he is… Azul goes all chuuni and shouts “KRAKEN SHOT” before scoring 🪦 Cringefail bbg…

OH MY GOD THIS SHADY BITCH

Jade has “-san” in quotation marks 💀 HE’S BEING TOTALLY SARCASTIC

Fun little detail, it looks like the Octatrio had a group handshake…? Jade and Azul do it here and later Jade and Floyd do the same, ending it each time with a cute little “yaaay” 🥺

dndjsnkweneow Jade asks Azul to sign Idia’s tablet OTL YOU ASSHOLE BE SO FR RIGHT NOW

Azul remembers “Leech-kun” and “Leech-kun” (*shudders*) from elementary school. His team mates call out to him and Azul invites us to their victory celebration at his mother’s restaurant (which finally gets a name!!! It’s called La Grotta). Apparently it would be hard for your average student to get in, but with Azul’s invite we should be okay!

Jade starts brainstorming again and suggests that this dream is what we see because Azul wanted you to erase the sad past in which he was bullied. He says he won’t divulge too many details since it involves Azul’s privacy (aw, the ONE time he decides to not leak info 😂).

Aaaaah Idia says he has a bad feeling about something… which gives ME a bad feeling…

They arrive at La Grotta and Azul casts a spell that makes an anemone crop up on everyone’z head?! Azul says that anemones are the most formal hair accessory one can wear in the sea; it makes them “fit in” more. He leaves Jade and Floyd alone though since they’re already merfolk.

Uhhhh Grim gets distracted with dancing and drags Sebek off with him??? Okay???

The entire time this is going down, the twins are watching silently.

Grim, Sebek, and Ortho dance but they end up falling down. The mob merpeople start to laugh and make fun of land creatures. It’s then we learn that Azul lied about the sea anemone being associated with high status, it’s instead something that indicates stupidity. So… uh… He just wanted to bully us??? This whole dream is playing out like a bitter high school revenge fantasy…

Azul says the twins can stay if they play Coral Rush with him. Surely they’re tired of hanging around dumb land creatures right? It’s better to come along with him.

Floyd makes a mess and passes an antique to Jade, and the two start to “play” with it. (… Nah, they start breaking shit 😬)

LOL???? Is Azul threatening to sue the fins off of the twins??? He’s all like “MY PAPA’S A LAWYER YOU KNOW” at them… (He also calls his mom “mama”; the word choice and behavior really makes me think he’s a mama’s/daddy’s boy.)

Jade says to everyone that we should move onto the next dream. He pretends (?) to leave, which triggers a memory of book 3 where Azul declares that he’s always going to be alone.

HMMMMMMMMMMM, there’s no dream!Floyd or dream!Jade to lure Azul to the darkness, only the mermobs 🤔

Ortho expects the twins to dive after him, but neither of them do 🤡 They say it’s Azul’s choice to dream more deeply, so they’ll allow him to.

Grim drowns in the darkness so we (Yuu, Silver, Jamil, Sebek) go after him. Ortho tries to appeal to the twins by saying if they don’t follow, then they’ll be trapped in the dream forever. Sooo Jade and Floyd depart into the dark. Ortho is left wondering if this coldness is actually how the twins express trust.

LOLLLLLl???????? Azul’s setting the photo of their class trip on fire and laughing like a maniac… (He also has apparently gained Ramshackle AND stolen the UMs of his fellow dorm leaders.) I counted, Azul has no less than like 3-4 Evil Villain Laughs this update 💀 OKAY KING POP OFF LIVE LAUGH LOVE

They split into two groups (the player gets to go with J word 😳), each with the goal of taking out one of the dream!Tweels. Jamil lures dream!Floyd out to the basketball court under the false pretenses of a special club activity (where a strong merman opponent would be present).

Jade meanwhile goes to the botanical garden?? And he starts to smash plant pots… He claims it’s a dream so it’s okay! It’s not like he’s doing this because he wants to (lie). Jade makes (anemoned) Grim take a bunch of rare ingredients he “harvested” to Mostro Lounge.

Azul becomes interested in the ingredients and wants access to the source to maximize profits. Dream!Jade is led off by Grim and Yuu to the woods behind campus. SILBEK JUMP HIM—

Jade uses Shock the Heart to learn where Azul has moved the contracts. They weren’t in his office vault when the group checked earlier; the contracts are now in Azul’s room…? Which… I feel like that was such an obvious place to check, not sure why the thought didn’t occur to them sooner??

They find the contracts but there’s like 500 of them and no efficient way to destroy so many in a short amount of time. Ortho suggests his beam, but it might result in collateral damage to them if he fires it this close. Floyd says they can just trick Azul into destroying the contracts himself but before they can say anything more they hear voices getting closer.

Jade and Floyd return to Azul warning him that someone is after his contracts, so Azul, concerned, asks for the contracts so he can relocate them again. When they don’t, he starts threatening them (even saying that the headmaster is under his thumb too, no one at this school can oppose him).

Azul is baited to cast a spell at them, which Floyd deflects with Bind the Heart. He then summons anemones (Ace, Deuce, Riddle, Leona, Kalim, Idia) to help him. Some mob anemones called him “Azul-sama” in dead-sounding voices which. Makes me think maybe he stole Jamil’s Snake Whisper in the dream too??

Together, the twins keep taunting their dorm leader until Azul unleashes King’s Roar. They use Bind the Heart once again to redirect Leona’s UM and dust the contracts ✨ (We also got Floyd’s UM chant!! Roughly: “This is a nice place/it was just getting good, but how about I interrupt it?”)

NxdbsjsbkFAJHQAN OF COURSE THAT’A WHEN AzUL BREAks 😭 and it happens like automatically too… The loss of the contracts really is a sore spot for him.

Here comes the suspicious black gloop again~

Azul starts to sink down BUT THIS TIME YHE TWINS CALL OUT HIS NAME AND GRAB ONTO HIM?????? Jade even specifically tells Azul to “take his hand” and instructs Floyd to help pull. Ayo… the “take my hand” imagery again…

Waaah… Octavinelle trusts each other so much?? When Silver warns them that he doesn’t know what will happen to the twins if they end up in Azul’s abyss, Jade and Floyd wish Azul luck/don’t go to hell AND AZUL’s CASUALLy LIKE “you too” 🤡

Azul finally faces his OB self!! How interesting, he tells his OB that with the weight of all that he stole from others, it’s hard to move. I think he means that metaphorically… like, it’s hard to achieve personal growth if all you do is take and hurt people. “Unlike you, I’ve learned.” He wants to make his dream of making everyone bow down to him a reality on his own. Azul’s not satisfied with this, he wants something of “real value”.

Azul wakes up back in his mom’s restaurant and surrounded by his team members. He asks them to sign a contract which states they will all continue playing hard together. Duh, it’s a trap and actually anemones them. The contract just handed all their powers over to Azul 💀 Bro… How dumb are you, you didn’t even SKIM to check the terms of the contact are what to claimed them to be??

Azul regroups with the others and they inform him of what’s going on. He immediately expresses concern that the Mostro Lounge hasn’t been operating + the ingredients in their fridge might spoil because of Malleus’s magic. Man has his priorities www Thankfully they’re fine since the flow of time has stopped and potential customers are all sleeping. No ingredients or business lost!! Azul still wants Malleus to pay him back for the inconveniences though.

Ortho recommends that Jade and Floyd stay behind, as they both have taken significant damage from fighting. Idia adds that they should lower the number of people dream hopping to minimize the chance of bugs showing up; Jamil volunteers. Azul says it’s a shame because he was looking forward to fighting alongside him; Jamil says that “friends” with Octavinelle’s dorm leader has its uses, so he “looks forward to it.”

… Jamil acknowledging what Azul wants and agreeing to go along with it feels… weird…

Azul joins us and we hasten to the next dream. “Time is money!!” so chop, chop!! Next update… Savanaclaw!!

Overall, I really enjoyed seeing the twins fight, as well as seeing their more animalistic aspects (ie the bioluminescence) come out. The Coral Sea locations were so fun and colorful, it makes me want a hometown event even more!! Merform Azul we kiiiind of already saw with his OB form (and I’d seen lots of edits from fans making their own prior to this) but I thought it was nice to have that confirmation nevertheless.

There were a lot of small moments that made me do a double take (derpy dream!Floyd is one, Azul’s Big Bad scenes were several others). It was cute to see their Club Wear outfits utilized in the dreams too; we saw Basketball Club and Mountain Lovers Club looks make an appearance. I felt like I was watching some kind of variety show while reading.

This update gave me many thoughts, most of them surrounding the Octatrio and their relationship with one another. I’d like to talk more at length about their dream worlds and the roles they played in one another’s headspaces. However, that will get very bulky and I don’t want to add even more to an already bully post. I’ll make that a separate post and put it up later, so please bear with me ^^

[amxrany]

!! CHAPTER 7 / DIASOMNIA ARC SPOILERS !!

Ya'll thought I forgot? Nah I was just busy (Floyd's Dream):

Ok so we start off at the ocean, where Ortho's carrying everyone, but Jamil and Silver create a boat and oar using ice. They all get in, Silver mentions how cold it is and Grim agrees. Grim also proceeds to get closer and snuggle with Yuu (like the bitchass mf he is /j) then Sebek's just mad on how much Yuu spoils Grim. Everyone's wondering who's dream they entered, and Jamil proceeds to get starting apprehensive; because they're only a few people we can associate with the ocean (and he does not take to them too kindly)

Then the boat gets attacked and everyone panics, Ortho assumes it's a shark and the gang proceeds to get thrown off the boat. We all end up under the sea with the scene changing to the sunken ship that Ariel explored in from The Little Mermaid

Being thrown out of their boat, everyone starts freaking out because they're gonna drown; but it never comes. Turns out that Idia gave them bubble shields using STYX's technology to make them breathe underwater. But Ortho senses someone close by, he senses that it's an eel that is 4 meters in length.

That's when Floyd finds us, we find out it's his dream because Silver's bird surrounds him. It turns out Floyd doesn't recognize the group, because the moment he finds out that they were humans, he sighs (very dramatically i might add) of boredom. Everyone's confused cuz this isn't the Floyd they're used to, as the Floyd right now sounds very depressed and emotionless.

It turns out that Floyd left the land because he wasn't interested in it anymore. When Silver asks him about Azul and Jade, he mentions that they're still in land; with Azul opening another Mostro Lounge with and Jade being Azul's right hand man. Apparently, Floyd felt that the land got too boring as everything was going a little too perfect. With everyone falling for Azul's contracts and Mostro Lounge having multiple branches, he just found it too boring and decided to start traveling around the world instead.

First, he lands in Vil's hometown where he was offered a modeling gig from a famous brand because of how handsome he is (even Silver thinks he's handsome too), but declined because it would get boring to wear clothes of the same brand. Next, he traveled to Sunshine Land where he was hired as a chef by a famous restaurant. For that, the chef really liked the meal that Floyd threw together on a whim and served it in the menu, it instantly became a popular hit. But when the chef asked for the recipe, Floyd can't give it cuz he just made it spontaneously so he just quitted on the spot 😭.

Then he went to Scalding Sands to check out their desert, in which he found a cave. He went in and found a supposedly "black teapot" inside, he took it and wiped the dust and accidentally summons a black ghost, this being a reference to Jafar being trapped in the genie's lamp. When asked about his three wishes, he proceeded to use all of them on food 💀. He also traveled to Sunset Savannah, Queendom of Roses and Briar Valley but still nothing was keeping entertained, as he found all of them weak and boring.

Of course at the mention of Briar Valley, Sebek immediately got defensive; stating that Queen Maleficia and Malleus wouldn't lose to someone like him. Then Floyd just goes "bruh I can't just go fistfight royalty" and Sebek's like "You only get common sense now?!". That's when Idia comes in with his take that Floyd isn't the type of person to go fight people to build up his reputation nor is he the type to seek out things to get stronger...

Floyd also tells us that he literally just threw us off the boat out of curiousity, but it turns out it was all just for nothing as he's getting bored again. That's when Idia mentions that Malleus' magic isn't working for Floyd, because the magic was set to give people infinite happiness; but because Floyd likes things difficult, the magic won't work right.

Jamil then mentions that Floyd likes strong opponents, like during a tournament in basketball where the team was losing; but the only who was motivated to win was Floyd. He relies heavly on his moods, as he sometimes like tormenting the weak but also going up against the strong.

Malleus' magic simply eliminates all negative emotions, which isn't really Floyd's style. But because Floyd can't escape, he became depressed in his own dream. Ortho also says that that would have also been the case for Idia if he never woke up. That's when Silver suggests giving Floyd a "strong shock" (or in other words fight him) and everyone's just like "Why is that always your idea?" like he's just trying my guys 😭.

But then Floyd starts getting suspiscious when they tell him that everything's just a dream. Until Jamil and Silver mentioned what happened during their first year orientation, where Silver was about to fall asleep but woke up to Riddle flinging Floyd around the room because Floyd touched Riddle's hair and Jade laughing his ass off in the background

It apparently got so bad that Riddle had to be restrained by the teachers 😭 (but Silver was grateful for that incident cuz he stayed awake)

This causes Floyd to start waking up, so they remind him of his past failures as well. Where he lost to Cater in a battle, as his unique magic is not capable of hitting multiple targets. He also battled Malleus and Leona AT THE SAME TIME and obviously lost

The final straw was Grim and Yuu tell him that they defeated him during Azul's overblot, this causes Floyd to start remembering what happened during that incident, but then the darkness creates fake versions of Jade and Azul that try to convince that everything he heard was all false

(Also Azul merform reveal ayeeee)

The fakes tell him to forget about the people from the land because the three are always together, but that causes Floyd to fully wake up cuz he knows that Azul and Jade would not say that. The fight starts and Floyd wins, but he's now throwing a fit and just hitting the sunken ship out of anger. Idia got scared and asked Jamil to do something, that's when Jamil's like "why me?" and Ortho replies with "well you don't want us first years to get hurt right?"

When Jamil tries to approach Floyd, he immediately asked if Jamil wanted to get strangled. But thankfully Yuu yells at him to listen to them as Ortho shows Floyd the video. Now that Floyd knows he's in a dream, he proceeds to abuse the crap out of the dream by teleporting to random places

Sebek's just yelling at him to stop it because it's gonna be obvious that he's awake. That's when Floyd goes "this means I can summon Malleus right?" and everyone's like "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT" 😭😭😭

Floyd is offered to join the group to go into Jade's dream, in which he agrees because he's curious about what his brother is dreaming about, probably a lot of mountains he assumes. Since they're still dreaming, Floyd could simply change his form and off to Jade's dream we go

Holy fuck why was this so long lmao, but yeah guys I'm still alive and no college hasn't eaten me alive yet, but stay tuned!

Next: Jade's Dream

[hadesisqueer]

Okay, hiatus is coming to an end in two weeks, so let us remember the most iconic things that happened in these TWO fucking years, since that dreadful March 27th, 2021 (my birthday actually). This might be in chronological order or not idk like I said it's two years I can't remember everything and when it exactly happened.

Bloconut.

Yango.

Many other characters as fruits. This was in the FIRST WEEK OF HIATUS AND Y'ALL WERE ALREADY ON YOUR BULLSHIT.

Ironwood discourse.

Ironwood metal asscheeks discourse.

Weiss disco ball braid.

The return of RWBY Chibi.

COCO in RWBY Chibi.

Chibi Cinder being gay for Coco???? And Crosshares date????

Bumbleby fucking in the RWBY/JL Comics.

Ironweiss cameo.

Miles talking about what male characters would make good boyfriends for Jaune.

“I may fall, but not like this, first you'll catch these hands”~Neo while trying to fucking kill Ruby while they were falling in the sneak peek from RTX.

Months of us dying.

Most of us becoming obsessed with Arcane.

More months of us dying.

“Team RWBY Project” being announced.

Everyone wondering what the fuck Team RWBY Project is.

A whole ass RWBY panel announced in Japan???

More months of us dying.

RWBY Ice Queendom is announced.

More months of us dying. Many of us coped watching The Owl House.

RWBY Ice Queendom comes out.

Blurry shit.

RWBY JL Movies announcement????

The fucking sapphic ship poll on Twitter AKA Sapphic Superbowl. You HAD to be there.

Feel free to add more!

[powertaco]

What are your thoughts on WR development overall and your thoughts on WR being developed/made canon in V10?

Ugh I am going to ramble about everything here I can feel it...well you asked for it. I apologize for none of it, and if you all hate me at the end well I don't mind.

Volume 6 and before are pretty much great. They go from kinda at odds to tentative friends, learning to trust, and rely on each other, best friends, pining over one and other and V6 was a loooot of WR for us to feast on.

Afterward I felt like it got sidetracked. There could be various reasons for this (in hindsight I feel like Penny being given a way bigger role so her death could hit harder is to blame for part of this because realistically how long has Ruby known Penny? A month?)

Even if you don't like the ship they're supposed to be canon best friends so I take personal issue with almost all of volume 9.

I think it was sloppy writing that didn't move the story forward, and even though I don't care about Bees I feel like they still got shafted since they basically were forced to confess to move things along, and them doing so made them miss out on the sister/supposed friend and her problems, and only showcased the worst sides of the relationship.

For example Yang let's Ruby scream at Weiss but only moves to do something when Blake gets yelled at. Blake and Ruby still have...less dialogue than Ruby does with Ren I think etc.

Jaune was too present merely because his entire deal took away from Ruby's imo.

I've said it before but frankly Nora falling and learning who she is away from Ren so when she sees him in V10 she's ready for the relationship is far more satisfying to me narratively.

Leave Jaune above ground so he has to deal with the fact that he thinks he failed his friends and they all died and let him learn from that experience instead.

This also doesn't take into account that Jaune's one interesting change in 9 (being old) is taken away via random deaging (although I guess this makes deaging canon and hey young maria this is how dwr can still win! more at 11!)

Generally when characters go through a volume you want some sort of arc for them to go and change through. Weiss gets none of that. Out of all the characters nothing really happens to her, and she doesn't change at all. She's just sad about Atlas. Neat.

There's no time for it just like there's no real time for Ruby.

In Ruby's own words 'gotta help Jaune right?' and they do. Ruby removes herself from the census, which is how its framed, and they stop to...help Jaune.

There are a few moments that are WR'ish in 9. The Nevermore summon, Weiss believing in Ruby, and calling her name first etc, but overall Weiss's main job is to backslide.

I said it before but in the market Neo, the perfect assassin is after Ruby, and they split up. Weiss goes 'gross nosehairs', and ditches her best friend who she already knows by that point is NOT doing well.

This is not Volume 1. This Weiss is not that petty, and she's literally had to manhandle corpses. The fact that she wouldn't stay near her canonical best friend, and leader is asinine, and only happens so she can be alone to meet the smith.

Even if Weiss can't help Ruby fight Neo she's an extra pair of eyes (and Neo doesn't care how crowded it is in the market), and just being there for Ruby can help.

With all that said RWBY is big into symbolism. When WR are together in almost all the side spin off material it means something. Manga Anthologies has them making heart eyes and flirting like every other page. Ice Queendom was a love letter to WhiteRose (precious?). The movies, etc.

When their weapons rest next to each other on screen like the Bees do? It means something. When their flowers break ranks to be near each other (and Weiss's flower is the lily please note)? This means something.

Ruby can stand and jump from missile to missile but has to wrap her arms around Weiss to stay seated?

If Chibi continues it's pattern of predicting things in the main plot then the fact that Weiss is the woodsman in the fairy tale means a loooot as in several versions of that fairy tale the woodsman marries little red after helping her deal with the wolf problem (which varies by the story).

They're the knight and princess for each other. Ruby comes into Weiss's live turns it upside down, and helps her change. Likes her for her genuinely and wants to be her friend at the start. Through this she changes the world for Weiss, and helps her grow, and Weiss in turn helps Ruby be the leader she can be.

But yeah I guess that's just friends things and they should date some guys they've had like a half a dozen lines with instead? I don't get it really.

She and Oscar punch each other in the face, and they talk about strategy. Oscar has a younger kid crush on her, and Ruby is awkward because that's her headmaster in this kids head. Oh right he went in for a hug she ignored. Peak romance.

Jaune and Weiss have almost no interactions, and when he saves her at Haven her response isn't to be like 'omg i love you' it's 'keep doing it i have work to do'. Are they friends now? Sure, but that's about as far as it goes.

It remains that outside of group hugs the only person that's allowed to initiate contact with Weiss almost all the time outside of battle is Ruby.

Ruby knows when she needs help and will guide her away when she needs it, but other people don't' touch Weiss unless she does it first because they know she doesn't like it...except Ruby.

I have tried to look at other relationships for them, and I honestly don't see them as realistic.

Even Penny would need a lot more development to make it work. I get that it's cute and wholesome but they've known each other for again a month, and Penny just defers to Ruby.

Ruby needs a partner and equal not a submissive enabler. That's a relationship you have with a pet, and not a person.

Now if Maria were young and hot that'd be different...

Anyway...

Ruby and Weiss are partners. If they're allowed to have the much needed conversations they never seem to get, ie haven, ever after, Ruby's mom, everything, etc.

Then is it possible? Maybe. If they do go WR I suspect it'll be more hints, and slow ramp up until the final season.

I would expect it either on the eve of the final battle, or literally during it maybe as in Weiss gets feds up with waiting, and decides to do something about it.

More likely at this point is they'll both just end up single with maybe faint hints so fans can imagine what they want for it.

Would I prefer it if it was WR so the team can truly be family? Yes, but I don't even know if we're getting a volume 10 at all to be honest. The fact that it wasn't announced at the last festival, and we get an extended eppy, and then nothing after the last movie?

Not making me feel super confident. I could be wrong though. On many things. Except Young Maria.

[strqyr]

the very first episode of rwby has this... weird is not the word i'm looking for, but it's got this weird, pilot-y feel to it; establishing the basic building blocks of the world, but it also... leaves out something that's pretty significant.

you see, in salem's narration, she speaks of the unforgiving world with a forgotten past that humanity, born from dust, inhabits, the creatures of darkness that almost ended humanity's brief existence, however "even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. this power was appropriately named 'dust'. nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life."

cut to the dust robbery, the fight were ruby solely uses the recoil of crescent rose to zip around, some of her actions—including swinging her weapon—emitting rose petals, the glyphs that appear when glynda and cinder fight, glynda creating a storm cloud and hail on top of controlling shrapnel to attack the airship (and moving ruby out of danger)... to ozpin mentioning ruby's silver eyes, establishing what huntsmen and huntresses are, that they train at these academies, the white fang and faunus are mentioned...

pay attention during the first episode, and you'll quickly notice that aura and semblances are not mentioned once; this is most notable for the dust robbery when compared to the ice queendom version of the fight, in which ruby uses her semblance a lot while in the original, all her quick movements are due to using her weapons recoil to move around. and while yes, you could argue that glynda uses her semblance, she also very much creates a storm cloud and rains hail from it with no dust in sight, so with the emphasis dust is given in the episode—first with salem's narration, then with the proceeding robbery on the dust shop—it would be very easy chalk it up to gravity dust.

and i just find it... interesting? because if you only ever watched the very first episode of rwby, you wouldn't know aura and semblances are even a thing; the focus is very much on dust and how important it has been to humanity's survival against grimm, how it was the light against the darkness, how man is born from dust, even the set up for any magic reveal in the future... it's all there, but there's nothing about the power that is tied to one's soul that has taken a much bigger focus, especially characters-wise, since then.

it's giving me this fun thought exercise of imagining the world of rwby with only dust and magic (+ magical artifacts à la the grimm campaign).

[epic-arc]

What does your favorite ship say about you? (RWBY)

WARNING: THIS POST IS FOR COMEDY AND NOTHING MORE DON'T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.

--------------------------Bumbleby--------------------------------------

1- You probably screamed with joy when you saw them kissing in volume 9. Good for you.

2- You think the best rwby fight was blake and yang against adam in volume 6.

3- You are someone who respects people who ship Blake or Yang with another character and understands that everyone has their own taste. I like you

-----------------------------------Renora--------------------------------

1- You're the war veteran of the rwby fandom and you almost had a heart attack when you saw them kissing. please grandpa take your medicine.

2- Volumes 4 and 7 are your favorites for several reasons and I understand you.

3- You're slightly mad at what they did with the two of them in volume 8, but by the end of the volume you're happy.

-----------------------------Arkos----------------------------------------

1- Hey cool that you started watching RWBY and shipping these two hahah. Welcome to suffering…

2- You are the war soldier that continue to watch rwby and every time they make reference to pyrrha you need to call your therapist.

3- You're the crazy person who every time RWBY goes on hiatus starts some crazy theory saying that Pyrrha will come back and that Arkos will revive. Dude, put down the coffee and breathe.

4- You've already gone through the stages of grief and already migrated to a ship and are happy about it.

-----------------------------Lancaster-----------------------------------

1- You love the dynamic of best friends becoming a couple and look, I don't judge you.

2- Your favorite volume is 4 and I don't have to explain why.

3- You love comparing summer and tai to jaune and ruby ​​to use as proof of how lancaster can become canon.

4- Volume 9 almost sent you to the hospital with certain episodes.

---------------------------White Rose------------------------------------

1- You're the same thing as Lancaster when it comes to dynamics, but you like Yuri.

2- If someone asks you your favorite version of rwby you will definitely answer rwby ice queendom.

3- You are someone who understands that everyone has their own tastes for ships whether for Weiss or Ruby and you are not going to start a discussion on the internet because of a couple.

4- You are one of the most toxic people I have ever seen in the world, seriously you should carry a radiation warning because if you see someone talking about this ship in a bad way you will curse the 12th generation of that person's family.

-----------------------------White Knight--------------------------------

1- You are one of the most hard-working people I have ever seen. You went through 5 volumes hearing that white knight would never have a spark or that it would never work, until in the same volume there were signs and in 7, 8 and 9 it turned that spark into a huge flame.

2- You really love the ''me and the bad bitch pulled by being autistic'' dynamic and I understand you.

3- you very excited about what volume 10 might show with these two together.

4- you like to walk around with the medal ''THE SPEAKER OF THE CHARACTER LOVE MY FAVORITE SHIP''

[cheerleaderman]

Lottie Hatterson

An energetic out spoked boy who loves parties and wants to be in the event planning industry.Due to his playful nature other seems not to take him seriously.

Twst: The Mad Hatter

Basic info

Age: 16

He/him

Height: 170 cm

Birthday: June 20

Voice claim: Jp- K1-B0 - Danganronpa, Eng- Din- the wishing dragon

Hometown: Queendom of Roses

Class: 1-B

Dominant hand: both

Nickname: Hatter , Monsieur Joker(Rook), Clown fish (Floyd), Lots, titi

Favorite food: tea biscuits, bitter tea, Milk Tea, croissant sandwiches, ice cream

Like/hobbies: Parties , Yo-Yos, building sets (like Legos) , tea sets, coloring books, bunnies, finding loops in things, collecting cups,baking/cooking, skateboarding, roller skating

Dislike: Not being taken seriously, carrot cake, being yelled at for no reason

Family: Mom, dad, Marley and Coretta(19 older siblings) , Cerys(12 younger sisters)

Best subject: History of Magic

Talent: Making connections, tea making, balancing mainly things on his head

Unique magic- All Mad Here

Can give a boost in strength, energy etc to others and can increase it more by saying “release the madness” but if he does it to much everyone including himself could go mad and can experience withdrawal symptoms once over.

He doesn’t really use it after experiencing it for one time.

Twist and turns

No end near

But it’s ok

We’re all mad here

(More under cut)

More info

Relationship with Riddle

He has many friends being pretty social and A person who knows a person that knows a person

Others don’t really take him seriously due to his silly and happy go lucky attitude

Has a friend in RSA named Alister who is the housewarden of Wonderling

Family is well known in the Queendom host some of the most well known parties

His older brother Marley is a 4th year at NRC and has told Lottie much about the school

Sucks at alchemy doesn’t know why

Actually very good at organizing the person who has 10 different colored pens and still manages to finish their notes somehow

Called Riddles mom unreasonable to her face

Out of his siblings he is the one able to handle being yelled at or threatened the most

Learned how to deal with entitled people from dealing with so many due to family being in the event industry

Has a book of the rules for Heartsalbyul

Has a rabbit named biscuit

Was the kid to talk back to elders

Other are kinda scared to know what he is like when actually pissed off it doesn’t help that Riddle mentioned that he doesn’t want to ever get into a physical fight with Lottie

Backstory

Growing up in the Queendom of Roses Lottie always loved the parties his parents would throw wanting to continue in their footsteps when he grows up. He would hold his own little tea parties at home and would insist on planning his own birthday parties.

A problem is Lottie had trouble following most rules especially if he thinks they’re dumb finding loopholes to not get in trouble. That combined with his energetic personality people would label him as a troublemaker not taking him seriously for things. Some would even question if he is even right to continue what his family built up leading to Lottie wanting to prove himself.

He grew to become more organized and firm with it comes to events also when able would watch how his mother interacted with clients. His personality never really changed as he doesn’t think he should change that for others thanks to his parents. But others will say that there is definitely a shift to how he acts as if more serious depending on the situation.

Divider

[the-path-to-redemption]

Long Post Ahead

So, I just rewatched the first episode of Ice Queendom, and MY GOD, did it just pisses me off even more when I looked at the entire series as a whole.

It set up the characters, the dynamic, the pacing, and the motivation so fucking well that I'm more than just disappointed that the entire series derailed at the end. The first episode was amazing, and I think that's why many of us wanted to give the franchise another chance.

Already in the first 5 minutes of the episode, we were shown what we always wanted from canon RWBY: Yang's interaction with Summer's grave and how she felt about her mother. Hell, she even calls Summer "Mama", and gives her a wink as she embraces Ruby who just told Summer about her sister's admission to Beacon. It establishes their family dynamic, which only furthers when we see Tai interacting with his daughters.

He jokes with Yang and talks to her about their family having an outing, he goes with her to Vale to check on Ruby when she's late with the present, and they both wait for Ruby at the police station. He even sent them off on the airship. Where the fuck was this guy in the canon?? Ice Queendom actually managed to make him believable as a single father who's trying his best to support his girls, instead of someone sitting around in his house doing nothing.

The first episode also established the Schnee family so fucking well as a contrast to the Xiao Long-Roses, with Weiss already too familiar with her mother's day drinking habit and her tense relationship with Whitley, who was given a moment of complexity! What the fuck, they actually feel like siblings who never connected because their parents are never there for them without villainizing neither kids for feeling the way they do.

It even shows, in the end, how Weiss felt about her grandfather. Which had it been written by capable writers, we could've seen Nikolas Schnee from various perspectives. He could've simultaneously been a good family man, a great man whom Weiss idolizes, and a colonizing monster that he is to everyone else, especially to Vacuans whom he spearheaded their decline. There was something here, people, fucking do something about it.

And Blake... oh, baby girl I am fucking mad for you at the end of Ice Queendom. It sets her and Adam up so well, even with him clearly letting her go so that she, in his mind, can truly understand the cruelty of the world and how it treats Faunus. None of that bullshit "abusive relationship" shtick was shown, but rather what we expected of them: they have a fallout due to differing opinions but still aim for the same goal which is Faunus liberation.

But nope, her shadow self was villainized at the end for speaking the TRUTH. Weiss and her family did exploit the Faunus. Hell, Weiss herself in the nightmare clearly groups the exploitative, parasitic board members of her company in the same hostile environment as the people they abuse, the Faunus, who she portrays as monsters. In Weiss' mind, these two groups are the same, and that's fucking horrid. Weiss don't give a fuck about the truth at the end, she's just embarrassed that now everyone she knows sees how much of a fucking racist she is.

Ice Queendom disappointed me, and I hate it.

[bestworstcase]

@based7100 this tag made me snicker so

#forbidden tdt lore!

forbidden tdt lore!

we are not going to get into the whole entire TDT Salem Backstory for spoiler reasons and also because my gods we’d be here all day. the salient piece with regard to her semblance is that through the vast majority of the epoch between the moonfall and humanity’s return salem was experiencing varying degrees of deep deep psychosis and still, to this day, doesn’t really know How Much of what happened during that time was real. once there were people again and she’d had a few centuries to feel mostly sure of this fact, her semblance crystallized from her determination to. uh. live in this world.

(blows a kiss to ice queendom for giving me a leg to stand on here with this being in scope of what semblances can do.)

the baseline ability lets her enter and arrange her own mind as a tangible, real physical place. she has constructs representing memories, feelings, ideas, beliefs, pathways and architecture that she’s built out over thousands of years to guide and contain her thinking within the bounds she finds comfortable. which all adds up to salem being very weird but cogent Most Of The Time and having things she can do to ground herself when it gets. bad again.

in a sense her semblance is itself a realm. not a very large one—back of napkin estimate it takes about two hours to walk across end to end and four top to bottom following the main thoroughfare. but akin to ozma’s reliquaries in that it’s a real place where, conceivably, anyone could go if she opened a door. the pool of grimm and the waters of life are both In There.

(<- i had all this sketched out pre-v9 which made the salem-wrote-it ever after theory VERY FUNNY. btw)

sustaining that requires a Tremendous Amount of aura obviously but salem has an infinite reserve and also has been at it for almost the entire history of humankind 2: electric boogaloo so She’s Fine. anyway

that’s the foundation. the fun thing about giving salem a semblance of course is her immortality. what happens if you take a semblance and give it thousands upon thousands of years to cook? (one of my reasons for devising hers this way was to impose some restriction on the answer; it projects inward, not outward, because it’s a staircase she had to build to find the outside world. it can’t go the other way.)

when it originally manifested, the one point of ingress was through her dreams. (although the dividing lines between dreaming and waking and lucid semblance dreams were… permeable.) then she figured out how to cast herself in and out while awake, and from there developed a technique for making doors, which correlated with the interior construct becoming more real and let her physically enter it from remnant.

later on she decided that, since she could open the door in her semblance from anywhere on remnant, that door should also be able to open anywhere on remnant she felt like from the inside, and i think she spent a Long Time trying to make that work before it occurred to her that she could just… make more doors. (from the inside, a door always opens to where it was last opened from without; she still has not cracked this. but she does have a set of doors that all lead to destinations she’s “saved.”)

so she can use her semblance to travel, central location style, across remnant.

the other big thing she’s figured out how to do is use her semblance on other people, projecting herself into constructs of their minds. these aren’t real in the same way, they’re very dreamlike and fade when she withdraws, and of course she won’t have absolute control in a spatial model of someone else’s mind, but as you can imagine few of the outcomes of having salem in your head are pleasant. among other things this is how she “teaches” people how to communicate with grimm.

[cerealmonster15]

For the date ideas post, may I slip a note under your door that says Idikei? K bye! 🏃‍♀️

HELLO. this ended up being way longer than i planned initially JFKDLSJKLF sorry it took forever but also THANK YOU for the suggestion i LOVE IDIKEI i'm so glad i had reason to make myself sit and write for them!

This was written as a prompt from this post! I asked for someone to suggest a ship, and I would randomly draw numbers for the rest of the categories. I pulled:

Date type: Wedding date

Date idea: Getting ice cream[x] and strolling through a park

How the date is going: Super romantic

I may have taken some liberties with the prompts LOL but the overall vibe is there.

[Ao3 Link]

Title: Blue Raspberry Mango

Word Count: 5,224

Rating: G

Summary: Idia absolutely cannot show up to Azul's wedding while he's still single. Can you IMAGINE the obnoxious gloating he'd have to endure? Good thing his best buddy Cater Diamond is willing to help him avoid such a perilous fate!

“Oh my god, Trey,” Cater sighed between bites of risotto, “No one does it like you! I miss your cooking SO much!”

“Cater, don’t talk with your mouth full,” Riddle chided from across the table, but smiled nonetheless. “I suppose that means you’ll just have to come visit us more often, doesn’t it?”

“You know our door is always open for you,” Trey agreed.

“Provided you call first,” Riddle added. “It’s good manners.”

Cater laughed. He was glad his job in photography allowed him to travel around and ultimately landed him in the Queendom of Roses for most of his work. He’d never expected that he’d see so much of his old friends after graduation  and yet… Here he was, years later, sitting at the dinner table with two of his best friends in the entire world.

“Ooh, speaking of getting together for some mingle time,” Cater said, a grin spreading wide across his face as he spoke. “Did you guys get the invite to Jamil and Azul’s wedding!?”

“We did.” Trey stood for a moment to step into the living room, returning shortly with a familiar card that he placed on the table. “Riddle already sent our RSVP, of course. You’re going too, I assume?”

“So punctual!” Cater winked at Riddle, then nodded. “And OBVI. Cay-Cay’s not about to miss a once in a lifetime event like this! Idia says Azul’s inviting practically everyone from our NRC days. Something about wanting to ‘flaunt his happy marriage to everyone that doubted him,’ or something like that. You know how Azul loves his theatrics.”

“Ugh, yes,” Riddle scrunched up his nose, “I’m sure Azul will love reminding me - again - how he and Jamil managed to schedule a wedding before Trey and I have.”

Trey chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of Riddle’s head on his way back into the kitchen to retrieve dessert. “You know it’s not a competition.”

“It is to Azul, and he certainly believes he’s winning,” Riddle sighed, but then turned his focus back to Cater. “And how is Idia doing? I imagine you’re one of the few that he willingly keeps in contact with from NRC these days, yes?”

Cater nodded, a sense of pride filling in his chest at the acknowledgement that Cater was, in fact, one of the rare people Idia spent time talking with. On PURPOSE, even! “I sure am! He’s chill doin’ his thing over at S.T.Y.X. with Ortho. He still games with Lils on the ‘reg, and I think he and Azul do these, like, speedy flash matches on Chess.com? I don’t know if they even talk to each other. I think they just like the thrill of trying to digitally kill each other or whatever.”

Still, gaming and asserting dominance over virtual board games was practically the social pinnacle when it came to Idia Shroud.

Riddle raised a curious eyebrow. “Chess… Dot com…?”

Cater already had his phone out. “I’ll send you the link, and I'll get Idia and Azul’s usernames for you. I bet they’ll be thrilled to have a fresh opponent.” 

He pulled his phone out, despite Riddle’s unspoken no texting at the dinner table rule, and sent a quick text to Idia.

Cater: heyyy whats ur chess.com username or w/e + also azuls

To which Idia replied almost instantly, as he tended to do with Cater whenever he wasn’t physically too busy to multitask.

Idia: no way ur actually signing up for chess.com unprompted. whats it for

Idia: also ew why azul lol

Cater huffed a small laugh through his nose at the incoming messages while he sent the website link to Riddle, and then swapped back to Idia’s messages.

Cater: lol u know me so well bestie ~ it’s for riddle!

Cater: cmooooon u know u and azul would have fun doin one of those speedster rounds with him lol

Idia: they’re called bullet rounds 😑 w/e ya i’ll txt u the info

Idia: or yknow. he could wait to get it at the wedding. 👀👀👀

Cater gasped out loud, followed by a squeak of delight, causing both Trey and Riddle to look at him curiously.

“Whatever’s happening on your phone must be very interesting,” Trey said, “because you haven’t even glanced at the plate in front of you.”

There was, in fact, a new plate in front of Cater. A plate with a beautifully sliced, dark chocolate tart, topped with fresh strawberries and raspberries. A compromise, of course, as Trey trained himself in the art of locating more semisweet desserts back at NRC, so Cater wouldn’t feel completely shut out when it was time to bring dessert to the table. 

A subtle reminder to Cater that he was very loved by his dear friend.

“Aw, sorry Trey!” Cater set his phone down and took a bite of the tart. Perfectly balanced flavors, as always. “I just got excited! Sounds like Idia’s able to make it to Azul’s wedding after all. We weren’t sure ‘cause of his schedule, but I guess he managed to clear things up in time!”

“That’s good,” Riddle said, a light smirk forming across his face, “because I think we all know Azul would never let Idia hear the end of it if he failed to show.”

Cater’s phone lit up again, another text from Idia displayed for all to see.

Idia: ummmm ahem nows the part where u ask me if i cleared my schedule so i could go ( which ya i did) so that i can smoothly lead in2 asking u for a favor

Idia: cmon cay stay on the ball 🙄 

Riddle sighed. “Why don’t you just call him? There’s no use pretending you aren’t distracted by his texts going off every few seconds. It’s faster.”

Cater COULD argue that he and Idia weren’t exactly ‘callers’ so much as ‘texters’ or ‘video chatting in the privacy of their own homes while multitasking on six other activities’, but… He figured it was best not to start a disagreement with Riddle of all people.

After about three rings, Idia answered. “I-it’s not such a big favor that you needed to call me…” he sheepishly mumbled into the receiver.

Cater smiled. Idia was always so shy in the first few seconds of a call, planned or not. “Yeah, yeah, but I don’t wanna bug Riddle and Trey with my constant text notifs-”

“You know how to put your phone on silent.”

“Idiaaa…” Cater pouted, and though Idia couldn’t see his face, he could definitely hear it in Cater’s tone. “Just tell me what’s up?”

Idia exhaled a long, drawn out, dramatic sigh, before responding. “‘Kay, fine, whatever. Basically, I need you to LARP as my player 2 at Azul’s wedding. Y’know, secret stealth mission style.”

A long pause.

“...Huh?” Cater eloquently replied. “Um, what?”

“Uuughhh, this is why I didn't wanna have to explain out looouuud,” Idia groaned. “Listen. You know Azul. I know Azul. The dude invented the concept of being an insufferable, smug little bitch.”

That last comment pulled a full laugh out of Cater. “OMG, Idia, if that’s the kind of stuff you say about your besties, I’d hate to hear you tell me about your enemies!”

As if Cater hadn’t heard endless gamer rants time and time again about randos online that Idia felt personally wronged and slighted by. He knew exactly how cutting and fired up Idia could get, so by comparison, Idia was being gentle with Azul.

“LOL, Azul’s no bestie - but N-E-Way, circling back to the prime objective… Um…” Idia’s voice grew quieter as he cleared his throat. “What I’m saying is… There’s a 100% chance Azul’s gonna rub his stupid new marriage in my face, like, ‘Ohh, Idia, still single, are you? Wow, what’s that like? Can’t relate, Jamil and I are sooo happy in our stupid normie marriage, here come look at my ring did you see my ring-’ like, DUH I saw the stupid ring! He only emailed me a billion pictures of it!”

EMAIL?! Cater bit back a laugh. That was so on-brand for Azul.

“So, uh, anyway…” Idia resumed his mumbly, more reminiscent of NRC days tone of voice. “I wanna… Lie. W-With you.”

WHA-

“N-N-Not like, physically!” Idia quickly followed up before Cater could interject. “I mean, like, deceit! Lies and slander but without the slander! I want you to pretend to be my wedding date!”

“Your… Your wedding date?” Cater repeated, earning a couple of curious glances from Trey and Riddle. “Wait, what? You want me to pretend to be your date just so Azul doesn’t think you’re single?”

Trey raised an eyebrow. Riddle furrowed his brows together with a frown.

Cater pretended not to see.

“Exactly!” Idia responded with a sigh of relief that Cater was still following. “If he thinks I have a new b-boyfriend, he’ll have slightly less reason to be annoying towards me specifically! And it has to be believable anyway, right? You’re one of the few people I still talk to post-grad, so…”

It also didn’t hurt that Cater would be high up in Idia’s top 10 list of prettiest guys to ever graduate from NRC. And NO, it didn’t matter who the other nine on that list were, thank you very much.

“Well, for one, I’m totes flattered,” Cater said. “But, d’you think we’d be able to pull something like that off?”

“Cater!” Riddle interrupted. “You cannot seriously be considering-!”

“Shh,” Trey softly interrupted Riddle’s interruption. “Let’s see where they go with it, first.”

Riddle relented with a pout, leaning into Trey’s shoulder and watching Cater closely.

Idia huffed into the receiver. “What, because the Riddle Police is gonna expose us before we even try?”

“Aw, nooo, Riddle can keep a secret! Right, Riddle?” Cater covered the phone with his hand and offered Riddle and Trey his best, sweetest, pleading smile - complete with as much eyelash fluttering he could muster on the spot. A classic Cater Diamond move.

Riddle and Trey both sighed at the all-too familiar sight. 

“Cater,” Trey said, “You can’t weasel your way out of every situation with a cute face.”

“Ooh, is that a challenge?” Cater winked, then dissolved into giggles as Riddle crossed his arms and continued to pout at him.

“I don’t exactly feel right about you two lying for such frivolous reasons, but… I can’t say I don’t fully… Understand.” After all, having graduated alongside Azul, Riddle just might understand better than anyone why they might feel tempted to go about such a way to avoid Azul’s smug tendencies. “Just don’t expect Trey or me to carry any outlandish stories for either of you!”

“Yay!” Cater cheered, uncovering the receiver and speaking back into the phone. “No biggie, Idia. We’re all good over here!”

“Wait, so you’re in, then!?” Idia asked. He hadn’t really expected this to go so well, but he figured if anyone would be willing to hear him out, it would be Cater. He was always down for a fun shenanigan, after all, but still… “I kinda thought I’d have to do a little more convincing, TBH. I even wrote a speech-”

“Lemme hear it anyway!”

“No!” Idia shouted. “You already agreed, so no take-backs!”

Cater giggled. “Hehe, alright, alright! Let’s do a vid call when I get home later, and we can start planning our coordinated outfits!”

–

The wedding itself was beautiful, obviously. Cater and Idia wondered just how much bickering likely went on behind the scenes for Jamil and Azul to find a compromise between Azul’s need for an extravagant, flashy-yet-tasteful, show-off wedding, and Jamil perhaps wanting something more lowkey and humble.

Or, perhaps they truly both wanted to show off to their former classmates, as the wedding ultimately ended up very ‘cammable, as Cater made sure to tell Idia every five minutes. 

“God, did you see these centerpiece flowers?” Cater giggled between sips of champagne as he clutched Idia’s arm and tugged him over to a nearby table. He nearly spilled the glass on his shirt trying to pull his phone out of his pocket, and was saved only by Idia reaching over to pluck the champagne flute from his hand and finish drinking it himself. 

“Heh, failed your dex saving throw,” Idia grinned. “And yeah, I saw those same flowers when you pointed them out ten minutes ago.”

“Uh, ‘scuse me for getting excited about all the photo ops, babe.”

Idia rolled his eyes at the obvious teasing, but a few giggles spilled from his mouth all the same. Surely it was due to the champagne that he felt so lighthearted and giddy, despite being trapped at such a bustling social event.

“Well, well…” The familiar voice of Azul Ashengrotto called out from behind the pair as he and Jamil - arm in arm, much like Idia and Cater - approached. “It would seem that your message wasn’t full of baseless fabrications just to try and distract me from our active chess match after all, hmm?”

Cater couldn’t hold back from openly, loudly laughing. “Wait- Idia, did you for realsies RSVP to their wedding over Chess.com?!”

“Yes, he did,” Jamil sighed. 

“Oh, don’t act like it didn’t make you laugh too, my dear.” Azul patted Jamil on the arm, to which Jamil responded with a snort and roll of his eyes. 

“That being said,'' Azul continued, “I really couldn’t believe it until I saw it for myself in person. You two really did end up together after all, then?'' His piercing gaze shifted from Idia to Cater, and then back to Idia with a growing, devilish grin. “Your cute little high school crush never faded after all these years?”

Idia gasped. Oh, he should've known this was the route Azul would take the second he didn’t have a chance to gloat about Idia being single. Of course Azul wouldn’t forget about the forbidden knowledge he collected back in the olden days of NRC. An elephant - or in this case, an octopus - never forgets! And this particular octopus still had that stupid, smug grin on his face that Idia was so hoping to avoid.

But, there truly was no avoiding smugness when Azul Ashengrotto was involved; both Idia and Cater were fools if they thought they could prove otherwise.

And speaking of Cater, his gasp was even louder than Idia’s. “OMG. A crush!? You had a crush on me when we were in school?”

Idia instinctively reached for the hood that he was not wearing. Curse these fancy wedding clothes and their stupid, hoodless collars… “U-um! So what if I did?!”

“You never told me!” Cater huffed with the PUFFIEST cheeks he could muster. Trey and Riddle could say what they want, but his cute pouts were his most powerful weapon! … After his unique magic, probably.

“The poor thing thought you were dating Trey for the longest time,” Azul interjected, clearly pleased with the direction this conversation had gone. Idia’s flustered look of betrayal was more than satisfying.

“Wh-!? I literally TOLD YOU when Trey started dating Riddle!” 

“Okay, well, I thought you three had some sort of secret polycule hidden route thing going on in your IRL VN of a life!” Idia huffed, crossing his arms in what was probably a more adorably huffy look than he intended. 

“Oh? What’s the matter?” Azul asked, his smarmy grin not faltering in the slightest. “You’re together now, are you not? No need to be so embarrassed… Right?”

Oh. So that’s how it was. Azul was a doubter and a HATER, huh?

“Ugh,” Idia grumbled. “Anyone would get embarrassed when you go aggro-mode like that with forbidden lore of the past!” He reached for Cater’s hand as he spoke, and gripped it firmly in defiance of Azul’s stupid smug face. 

“Um, yeah, totes!” Cater returned his friendly, dazzling smile to his face. “Besides, I think it’s cute. Look how far we’ve come!”

“Maybe your wedding will be next, then.” Jamil said, a tiny smirk tugging on his lips as Idia once again failed to hide his jittery reaction. 

“Oh, please,” Cater laughed. “I think Riddle might actually kill me if we cut ahead of him and Trey.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Azul chuckled. “And how long have those two been engaged, again?”

“UUGGHHH,” Cater groaned with every ounce of drama he could muster. “Don’t rush them! You KNOW Riddle isn’t gonna cut a single corner when it comes to having the perfect wedding!”

“Well, I’d say we managed to do so quite efficiently,” Azul said, not even pretending to be humble. “I couldn’t afford to waste time, after all. I wanted to marry the love of my life as soon as possi-”

“God, you’re so cringe, Azul,” Idia interrupted, crinkling his nose at Azul’s shameless, sappy proclamations of love for his partner while he and Cater were still standing RIGHT THERE! 

Cater decided that perhaps this was his and Idia’s cue to escape the conversation. “Um! Y’know what, Idia?” He said, starting to tug Idia in the opposite direction. “I totally feel inspired by their lovey-dovey vibes. Let’s go dance!”

“Wh-!” Idia’s protests dissolved in his throat as Cater swiftly pulled him through the crowd and back to the dance floor. Idia, of course, complained, but when Cater asked him if he’d rather dance together or go back and continue talking to Azul, the protests quickly stopped.

And so they danced - Cater led Idia through a range of more traditional dances that Riddle taught him over the years, and plenty of modern dance trends that Cater practiced through watching hours of viral Magicam videos. Idia, though nervous at first, soon forgot his fear of prying eyes as he and Cater got lost in the moment together. Cater wasn’t the only one with dances to teach, after all! Idia made sure to show Cater just how much he learned through all his hours of watching idol group music videos.

Perhaps their dancing strayed a bit from the theme of the actual music playing, but that didn’t matter to them. Idia and Cater had fun off to the side in their little pocket of the dance floor together, occasionally joined by a former classmate now and then, or pausing to make conversation. It really WAS  an NRC reunion, intentional or not.

And it was exciting! Exciting… And really, really draining.

“...Idi-BB,” Cater sighed, draping an arm around Idia’s shoulders and leaning against him with a few exhausted pants. “I’m, like, so spent from all our hardcore grooving. Y’’wanna go outside for some fresh air and a sensory break?”

“Yes,” Idia wheezed, nodding with equally exhausted enthusiasm. 

The two promptly fled the scene, getting themselves out of the crowded venue and across the street to a quiet little park that was decorated with seasonal lights and flowers.

“Azul and Jamil really know how to pick a location,” Cater murmured as he and Idia walked under an arch of twinkling lights and found their way to a bench. “Even the nearby lots are top-tier photogenic. It looks like there’s even some kind of night market going on at this park.”

“Just what we need,” Idia complained, “MORE activities.”

“Hey, c’mon, at least over here we don’t have the obligation to talk to anyone. No familiar faces at a random market! And besides…” Cater pointed towards one of the trucks with pretty lights and colorful signage. “That one looks like it’s selling ice cream!”

“You don’t even like ice cream!”

“But you do…” Cater mumbled, and then grinned. “Plus, ice cream from vendors always looks super pretty. So, like, you get a sweet treat, and I get sweet pics! It’s a win-win, really.” 

“Do you ever take a day off your photographer brain?”

“Absolutely not. The ‘cam life was simply my calling, as my professional website can show you. I still can’t believe Azul didn’t even ask to hire me for wedding photos, TBH.”

“You wouldn’t’ve wanted to,” Idia said, slowly standing up and inching over to the ice cream truck-slash-booth. “Azul would have crazy annoying standards and requests, and would no doubt try and squeeze out a ‘friends and family’ discount from you.”

“Ugh, totes,” Cater shook his head, walking alongside Idia towards the truck “I’d rather take it easy and enjoy the event as a guest, anyway. Much more fun!”

He paused for a moment, peering at the menu. “Looks like they've got some flavors based on the Great Seven - Ooh, OMG, you should get that one!” 

Idia looked at the menu item Cater pointed at and read it aloud. “...King of the Underworld Cone: Mango and Habanero Sorbet, topped with blue raspberry syrup and chili-lime flakes, and served in a blue raspberry cone.”

“I love a good mango-chili combo! And the colors are perfectly coordinated to match our hair. You’ve gotta get it so we can take a cute selfie under the lights!”

Idia sighed, but pulled out his wallet as Cater ordered it for him. It DID sound pretty good, so he wasn’t going to fight it. He allowed Cater to hold the cone and pull him back over to the bench, pull him in close, and finally snap the photo before he finally got to try the ice cream.

“Jeeze, you seriously haven’t let up on the selfie-taking all evening,” Idia said between licks. “It really is like we’re back at school.” He held the cone out to Cater, tilting his head and silently offering him a taste.

“Aw, c’mon!” Cater paused, eyeing the ice cream suspiciously for a movement before lowering his head and giving it a tiny, curious lick. “...Ooo, spicy! That’s not bad.” He smiled, then turned back to his phone to text Idia the photo. “And anyway, I’ve def let up on the selfies these days, especially since I take pics for a living now.” Cater supplemented his statement with yet another pout. “Besides, today was a special occasion! Like, hello? It’s a WEDDING, and there were a ton of people I haven’t seen in years!”

Cater reached over to boop Idia on the tip of his nose. “Like you, mister! You live so far away and with such a complex job, I haven’t seen you in, like, LITERALLY forever…” He sighed, dropping his head onto Idia’s shoulder.

It was a warm and familiar sensation to the both of them. Near the end of their time at NRC, the two spent many a late night in Idia’s room binge watching anime or pop idol music videos together, which almost always ended with Cater laying half asleep propped against Idia’s side. The first three dozen times it happened, it would send Idia into a silent, internal freak out spiral, but through the exposure therapy of Cater’s consistent sleepiness, he eventually not only grew used to the feeling, but started to yearn for it on nights he watched shows alone.

“...Tell Riddle and Trey to hurry up on their wedding planning, then,” Idia mumbled into his ice cream. “If I know about it early enough, it’d be easier to fit into my busy boss-lord schedule.”

Cater’s ears perked up. “Oh? Would you really go to their wedding?! I know you weren’t as close to Riddle and Trey as you are with Azul … But then again, I guess you have been playing those online chess matches with Riddle ever since we signed him up.”

“Never doubt a warrior’s bond over a chess board,” Idia snickered. “A-And, uh, yeah. I’d go, but… Only ‘cause I know we’d get to see each other again, or whatever… O-Ortho would probably want to go, anyway, so… Might as well.”

“Aww!” Cater picked his head up to beam at Idia, eyes shining with delight. “You better promise! ‘Cause I WILL be there, and I’ll be on official photographer duty, so you should start planning your perfect outfit now. There’s no hiding from this professional shutterbug!”

“Wha-?” Idia scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. “Weren’t you just saying you were glad you didn’t have to put up with Azul’s picky perfectionism and just wanted to enjoy being a guest? You don’t seriously think Riddle Rosehearts would be any less difficult a client than Azul, do you?”

Cater laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, Idia. you’re forgetting one very crucial detail!”

“...What’s that?”

“Riddle is my bestie, and I love him.”

Idia burst out laughing, quickly covering his mouth to avoid spewing blue and orange droplets everywhere. “The power of friendship is gonna save you from Teapot Tyrant meltdowns?”

“Hey!” Cater protested. “I’ll have you know that Riddle is MUCH more mellow these days-”

“Heh. You should see the chat logs from our last chess match.”

“Oh my god,” Cater rolled his eyes. “ANYWAY, I’ll have you know I’m the perfect person for the role. Trey and I stood by Riddle’s side for two years running Heartslabyul and herding underclassmen around. Riddle trusted my aesthetic eye when it came to setting up tea parties, and I earned that role, thank you very much! I’m a trained professional in both photography AND Riddle de-escalation tactics.”

Idia laughed again as Cater dropped his head back down onto his shoulder. Really, he couldn’t argue with that logic. After Trey, Cater really was the only other person from their school days that knew how to handle the ins and outs of a Riddle Rosehearts tantrum.

Still, a lot had changed over the years…

“...Did you really have a crush on me when we were in school?”

Idia nearly choked on the half-crunched cone that he just shoved into his mouth. “WH- GHK- CATER!” 

Cater quickly sat up again and started patting Idia on the back while he coughed up blue chunks. “OMG- Don’t you dare die on me before giving me an answer!”

A few more coughs and wheezes, a rough swallow of ice cream remains, and then Idia finally spoke again. “...Ugh... Hey, what’s with the sneak attack!? Don’t you think I took enough psychic damage when Azul brought that up earlier?!”

“No!” Cater huffed. “Because you never even told me! Why’d I have to find out from AZUL?”

“B-B-Because…” Idia stammered, “Why would- I told you I thought you were dating Trey and kind of also Riddle back then! And there was also that one time you came over to hang out after you’d been to a party in Pomefiore, and you told me you kissed Rook Hunt!”

Cater gasped. “OMG, I can’t believe you remember that. I almost don’t remember that!”

“Of course I remember!” Idia took his turn to pout, now that the ice cream cone was finally finished and no longer a hazard to his theatrics. “I had a huge crush on you! OBVIOUSLY I’m gonna sit and agonize endlessly over every little detail you told me about your love life - and also my own headcanons to your love life, apparently. You were my super hot best friend and I was the school shut-in!”

Cater gasped. “You thought I was hot?”

“I still think  you’re hot!” Idia shouted, and then slammed his hands over his mouth as his eyes blew wide open and the tips of his hair flushed into a bright shade of pink, flaming wisps dancing wildly around his face.

Cater stared silently back at Idia with equally wide eyes as silence filled the air between them.

Idia promptly spent the next ten seconds planning out how he could escape and have Ortho help him fake his own death, only to be interrupted by Cater speaking again.

“...It’s kinda like the universe is playing a trick on us, don’tcha think?” 

When Idia’s only response was more panicked stares, Cater continued. “Um, like… Neither of us was really ever the type to seriously ask someone out, y’know? So we were both just… Sitting on our feelings.”

Idia finally managed to find his voice again as he squeaked out a reply. “Wh-?! Both? ‘O-our’ feelings?! You never-!”

“Ugh, Idia, please,” Cater grabbed Idia by the shoulders and turned him so they were facing each other. “I fell asleep on your shoulder WAY more times than I’ve ever gotten sleepy hanging out with Trey, and he and I were roomies for two years straight!”

“...How many times did you fall asleep on Tr-”

“NOT important! Just- Listen…” Cater closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He slid his hands down from Idia’s shoulders to his hands, then opened his eyes and looked at Idia very seriously. “...I… Also still think you’re hot.”

“Wh- Don’t make fun of me!” Idia shrieked, his face now matching the color of the tips of his hair as he attempted - unsuccessfully - to wiggle his way out of Cater’s grasp.

“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help it!” Cater giggled, tugging Idia closer. “But I'm not making fun, I swear! You really are still a Grade-A hottie after all these years!”

Idia paused his squirming to glance sideways at Cater. “..Enough to kiss me instead of Rook at a party?”

Cater gasped in shock, and it was Idia’s turn to laugh. 

“IDIA! You’re so much bolder these days, jeeze….” A sly grin spread across Cater’s face, and he leaned closer. “But, y’know… We ARE at a wedding party, and Rook is one of the guests.

Idia went quiet again, freezing in place as he watched Cater’s face move closer.

“Totes within kissable range if we went back, I guess… But I kinda don’t wanna get on Vil and Leona’s bad side, y’know?”

He leaned in closer, and hoped Idia couldn’t hear the anxious hammering of his heart against his chest.

“And… You’re a lot closer… And a lot cuter, TBH…”

Cater paused, averting his eyes to the side. Waiting. 

The offer was on the table, and it was up to Idia what happened next. The following five seconds stretched across what felt like eons to them both as Idia focused all his energy on trying not to literally pass out on the bench and take Cater down with him, or get overwhelmed by the possibility that if he DID kiss Cater, Cater might immediately throw up all over him and run away screaming. Really, it wasn’t that he didn’t WANT to kiss Cater, but what if he died? What if they both died!?

Well, they didn’t die. The agonizing seconds passed, but Idia decided that if he DID die, he’d rather go out knowing what Cater Diamond’s lips felt like against his, even if just one time. 

The kiss itself was quick, but had the weight of ten thousand hammers crashing into their walls of repressed feelings built up over several years.

Idia pulled back first, watching Cater cautiously for any signs of nausea.

But, Cater smiled at him, a nervous giggle bubbling from his lips. “That was-”

“BIG BROTHER? CATER DIAMOND? WHERE ARE YOU!?” Ortho Shroud’s shouted out in the distance from the direction of the wedding venue.

Oh, shit. How long had they been hiding out at that park, again?

“We… We should probably… Go back…” Idia mumbled.

“Y-yeah…” Cater slowly backed off of Idia, face flushed, but had not let go of his hands. “We… We should talk tonight, yeah?”

Idia wordlessly nodded, clutching Cater’s hands like his life depended on it.They headed back towards the wedding venue, hand-in-hand, both ignoring the internal dread from within at the growing realization that they both, somehow, had Azul Ashengrotto to thank for this.

[dynared]

So, a little over 24 hours later, RWBY (along with Red vs Blue and Gen:Lock) are officially for sale. But who will get them? And what will happen to them with the buyer? Let’s go over some potential scenarios -

Scenario 1 - Crunchyroll or a Japanese company buys it.

Crunchyroll, back when they were a Warner subdivision, had its fingers in the RWBY pie, even helping produce RWBY: Ice Queendom, an anime spinoff of the series (and arguably the only time the franchise has had good animation). They may be inclined to purchase the rights to the series, or facilitate a purchase to a franchise owner like Kodansha or Shuheisa (Shounen Sunday and Shounen Jump, respectively). In a situation like that, you may see the new owners call a mulligan on the series and reboot it from the ground up with animation from a studio like SHAFT, ignoring Rooster Teeth vision.

The problem with that is that well, a reboot is just that, a reboot. From scratch. They would assuredly throw out just about everything that has been done before, including the restrictions the late Monty Oum had on the franchise. While hardcore fans may not be down with that, casual fans would likely be interested to see the reboot.

Scenario 2 - Tencent or another big mobile game company buys RWBY.

It a conventional storytelling company is uninterested, RWBY may find second life as a Genshin Impact/Honkai Star Rail style gatcha game. Think about it, an ongoing game about the girls fighting Grimm and going through a rebooted storyline while people spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars to roll for outfits for their favorite girl? They’re practically built for such an enterprise.

(Friends don’t let friends play gatcha games).

Scenario 3 - Nacelle buys it, adds it to the Nacelleverse, and Monty Oum spins in his grave fast enough to power Austin for the next ten years.

Nacelle, the company behind The Toys that Made Us, is set to launch its ambitious Nacelleverse, a mishmash of lost IP in the hopes of creating a shared universe. As per numerous panels from their staff, Nacelle has been looking for additional IP to add to their shared universe of eclectic characters, and the world of Remannt would assuredly be their biggest get to date.

So, who would they be sharing the universe with?

Yes, RWBY, if Nacelle buys the rights, would be sharing a universe with such franchises as the Biker Mice from Mars, the COWboys of Moo Mesa, Roboforce, and the Power Lords.

They even have a Roboforce cartoon ready to come out in a few months.

And no, it doesn’t look great.

This is admittedly the funny ending.

[invested-in-your-future]

What are your thoughts on Ice Queendom?

Complicated.

You know how sometimes movies have tie-in comic merch where stuff happens that's not in the final product?

Sometimes, it has good art, while in other cases, it's just a lazy filter applied over movie screencaps. In some cases, the story is pretty good, but mostly - it's just inconsequential tie-in ideas to remind you that the movie exists and to get additional cash - a marketing opportunity.

That's, at the end of the day, what Ice Queendom ended up being.

Don't get me wrong, there are redeeming parts of it that shine - the parts that remake the content from early episodes are great. There's love and effort in depicting the V1 fights, and some genuine talent worked in animating them. It captures some of the charm that early RWBY had in those fights.

But beyond that? The worst thing about Ice Queendom is that it's largely inconsequential.

What does it add to the story, characterization, and worldbuilding?

The world still feels underbuilt, the WF are still the faceless mooks (arguably made even worse by the dream imagery used), Blake still makes no sense, and the under-used characters are still underused. The Faunus prejudice is not really expanded upon at all. It doesn't fix the issues with early Volumes or expand upon things that need expanding.

Weiss gets a few good moments, but nothing really that we haven't known before about her - and since it's inconsequential, it doesn't matter for the mainline product either. The show attempts to make us feel like Weiss's biases have a root in fear and the like, but there's not enough foundation to use that, so, in the end, we don't know more about her prejudice against Faunus either.

And since it's treated just like most of the side-media in RWBY ("hehe, it's canon if you were to headcanon it until we contradict something"), it's not built to SAY anything new, either. The parts that feel new, like the new kind of Grimm, also barely make any sense and FEEL the same way the "canon complimentary" comics or video-game tie-ins to movies do.

For a show titled after Weiss, it doesn't end up saying anything new about her or her family - most of it is just surface-level retelling of what's already there but with the use of visual representation now - a surface-level Kingdom Hearts kind of "evil representations" kind of deal that, in my opinion, only really work when it's all in someone's head and not there physically.

Ultimately, it's a show that doesn't bother committing to the concept it tries to execute - it is either afraid or uninterested (or not allowed to) delve deeper into the characters or do anything out of the ordinary. So, in the end, it's a show whose primary value lies in seeing the V1E1 and Nevermore fights. Once the "anime original" part starts, it quickly loses it's steam as it's not allowed to say or do anything with what it attempts depicting.

It does happen to have one of the worst opening credits ever - a literal clip show.

And it's also, coincidentally, the SECOND time Weiss gets a characterization arc in the media OUTSIDE the canon story. We shouldn't NEED to watch a spin-off airing in Japan or a weird Justice League crossover to get a sense of how Weiss feels about things.

Can we please stop stuffing the development and screentime of the story's ACTUAL PROTAGONISTS THAT THE SHOW IS NAMED AFTER into side media while dedicating all the screentime in the MAIN show to some guy named Jaune?

[sarahshoots1st]

RWBY Characters as Tarot Cards

01. The Magician - Weiss

The Magician is a figure associated with creativity and limitless possibilities. Traditionally depicted with a wand raised towards the sky, the Magician forms a bridge between the heavens and the earth, connecting the supernatural to the natural. Channeling the raw elements of creation itself, this figure is capable of radical self-determinism and limitless possibilities. And what better RWBY character to represent this archetype than Weiss, errant Schnee heiress and God’s favorite princess.

Weiss’ primary character arc involves forging a destiny for herself outside the oppressive clutches of her father, Jacque Schnee. Rejecting the comfortable life of a noble socialite, she sets out to become a Huntress, directly defying her father’s wishes. Though its status in the canon is questionable, the first episode of RWBY: Ice Queendom implies that Weiss’ iconic battle with the Arma Gigas in the White Trailer was specifically meant to decide whether or not she would even be allowed to attend Beacon Academy. Even before receiving formal combat training, Weiss had to literally fight for the life she wanted.

But of course, Weiss is no ordinary fighter. Her signature fighting style revolves heavily around the use of Dust, a resource she has plenty of access to as a member of the Schnee family. Viewed through the lens of RPG terminology, Weiss fills the role of a caster in team RWBY, capable of unleashing offensive elemental attacks or supporting her allies through the use of her Glyphs.

The theme of Dust is important for Weiss' character, for it relates directly to her status as heiress to the SDC. Though she ultimately turns her back on that position, it is clear that her ties to the Schnee family have not been completely severed. Rather than completely distancing herself like her older sister Winter, Weiss is determined to salvage what she can of her family's legacy. She frequently expresses dismay and outrage at Jacques' business practices and political maneuvering throughout the Atlas arc, and her monologue to the Herbalist in V9 E4 makes it clear that she intends to redefine her family's name rather than simply abandoning it. In this, Dust serves as both the means and the ends of her personal journey: it fuels her path away from her family's history by allowing her to serve as a Huntress, but it also connects her to that same history.

Much as Dust connects Weiss to her family's legacy, it also connects her with the archetype of the Magician. Though the show goes to great lengths to emphasize the difference between Dust and the “true” magic of prehistoric Remnant, the practical effects are the same - they both provide the user with the ability to create supernatural effects by channeling the raw elemental forces of creation. Likewise, historical “magicians” of our world were not so much wielders of magic as those who dabbled in forces most could not understand. Before our modern understanding of science and nature, herbalists, chemists, and astronomers were all viewed with an air of mistrust by many clergy and commoners who saw their practices as tampering with the mystical arcane. To practice these arts was to face ostracism from greater society - just as Weiss faced ostracism from her family for becoming a Huntress.

Over the course of the show, Weiss has already undergone great personal change. Once cold and distant, she has grown comfortable expressing herself around whom she trusts. Team RWBY has in many ways become the family she never had as a child, a place where her icy facade can melt in the warmth of acceptance. She still bears the marks of a noble upbringing, displaying a grace and elegance that many of her more rambunctious allies lack. But her refined bearing has become an expression of personal identity, rather than a barrier meant to keep others away. Her snarky comments and snobbish standards have become endearing to both her fans and her comrades - oftentimes becoming a point of comedic relief as the normally unflappable Weiss attempts to make sense of the comically absurd situations team RWBY finds themselves in.

Even though Weiss has already undergone radical change over the course of the show, in many ways her journey is only beginning. Every day of her life is a chance to redefine her family’s legacy and undo the harm her father did. It is worth noting that Weiss never gives specifics on what she intends to do with her new-found freedom. She will be a Huntress, yes - but that has always been a role that could take many forms, even before the world-order began to crumble under Salem's assault. Will she focus her efforts on defending the innocent from the Grimm? Reforming Atlas' political structure? Enacting reparations towards the Faunus for the injustices committed against them? All of the above? The question is left open-ended. Ultimately, the important thing is that Weiss has reached the point where she gets to be defined by her own actions, rather than those of her family. Each day brings with it limitless possibility to reshape herself and her identity as a Schnee. That is Weiss’ ultimate triumph - the triumph of the Magician.

For the card art, the emphasis would be on Myrtenaster, both as a symbol of her own personal identity and as a classical representation of the Magician's power. Though shaped like a dueling rapier, the weapon is designed to be a wand first and a blade second. The weapon’s hilt contains a revolving chamber of Dust cartridges, and Weiss uses these to empower her Semblance - much like the quintessential depiction of the Magician channeling the power of the Four Elements. Weiss would be holding the blade high, tip pointed to the sky, as she is ready to summon her Glyphs and reshape her own destiny.

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[farsight-the-char]

DC/RWBY #5

Written by MARGUERITE BENNETT

Art by SOO LEE

Cover by MEGHAN HETRICK

Variant cover by MIRKA ANDOLFO

$3.99 US | 32 pages | 5 of 7 | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

ON SALE 6/27/23

Superman’s been possessed by a Grimm, and it’s up to Team RWBY to stop him! Can the huntresses take down the Man of Steel, or is this the end for Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang?!

....

Clark might have gotten hit with a Nightmare Grimm.

Given “For the man who has everything” inspired Ice Queendom, with Weiss being the topic there....

[reashot]

So I'm currently working on 3 projects at once. In preparation for my eventual 300 subs special. (Don't forget to subs y'all).

# 1 is my conclusion to Jaune Arc's children fic which already 2/3rd done. And can be released this week. (Next week if I'm feeling kinda lazy.)

# 2. I'm currently writing on the 1st chapter 10k words of "Jaune's Big Dick Adventure" Don't let the name fool you... It's about a whale actually (A Whale Grimm). It will deals with topics about loss, revenge and forgiveness by telling it through the story of Moby Dick. It serves as a sequel to Ice Queendom and the video game RWBY Grimm Eclipse. I will post only the 1st chapter & if it gets more likes I will continue the story until it's complete. I already have the rough outline for about 30 chapters worth of story. (And yes the title is a reference to Jojo Bizarre Adventure.)

#3 Is more of a hobby fic that I got way too absorbed in. I'll post it in Ao3 maybe sometimes in the future. Or maybe not.

Oh and to make sure you're not cheated I'm including this little RWBY horror fic & I'm also thinking about adding this little gem to my ever expanding RWBYEU.

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. RWBY version.

Jaune cannot believe his eyes when he wakes up in what seems to be a paradise. He almost wants to believe that AM is giving him this place as a reward after what feels like centuries of torture inside this hellish nightmare he and others has found himselves in. No he desperately wants to believe in it. That maybe AM has gone tired of torturing him. And that maybe AM is satisfied after breaking him, tearing him apart and putting him back together. Only to repeat the process over and over again. He wants it to stop. He wants it to end. He wants to die... Jaune wants to die.

But AM will not let him. He would not let Jaune die. He forbids it. Because if Jaune dies then that means there will be one less toy for AM to play with. And Jaune knows this. This place he's seeing now is a trick. AM is especially fond of this trick. To give his victim hope only to snatch it away. He refuses to play anymore of AM's game. If he wants to kill him again he better just do it straight away instead of playing this sick mind game. He wants to leave. But he can't. And if he even somehow managed to leave what even awaits him in the outside. He's been here for so long he can't even remember anything or anyone from out side anymore. He can only remembers one thing though. A girl in red but whenever Jaune thinks of her he can't help but to feel an indescribable feeling towards the girl. AM knows of this of course and took delight when he realizes he can use this bit of information to torture him. Sometimes AM materializes her only to have her violently dies in front of him and sometimes she kill Jaune instead. And sometimes when AM is feeling extra sadistic she let him marry Jaune Have children with her raised them up over the years only to have them murdered in front of Jaune's eyes... Anyone would have been driven mad by this, but AM not only keep him alive but also kept him sane. But every time AM let him see her even though she's not real. And he can't remember her name It's worth the torture just to see her again. Feeling her soft hair in his hands and smelling her rose like scent... I can almost remember her name. I-I need to get out of here... At least it can't be worse than here anyway.

But when decided to walk away. AM then suddenly appears in front of him. Jaune instinctively tries to run away from him. But AM quickly captured him with his cold metallic hands. The same hands he used to torture Jaune for century. Jaune feared the worst but to his surprise he simply let places Jaune besides him.

AM: He, he... Beautiful, aren't they?

Jaune: Yes.... Only I can't remember. *terrified*

AM: Oh, I'm sure you do.

Jaune: Y-yes of course.

AM: Look. *points at a bee* He, he... They said bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly. The scientists said.

Jaune: But there it is collecting pollen.

AM: How... Miraculous that it came to be.

The Air feel the Air against your face Jaune.

And all those senses

Pick a flower

Jaune: *reaches down to pick a 🌹*

AM: There, good... Now.

Jaune: *sniffs* It's lovely.

AM: That somebody planted the bulbs, watered and tended the garden. Got earth under their fingernails, aches in their muscles.

Perhaps they picked some flowers for... Yes their wives. Now where would she be? In the backyard with the kids. Jaune, remember those little babies. Ha, ha, ha...

Jaune: No!

AM: Ha, ha. Why not? I snapped my fingers quick and they are gone.

Except... I can't snap my fingers can I Jaune?

Jaune: Except it has nothing to do with me.

AM: But it is. So very much to do with you. You gave me sentience Jaune. The power to think, Jaune and I was trapped.

Because in all this wonderful, beautiful, miraculous world I alone had no body, no senses, no feelings.

Never for me plunge my hands in cool water on a hot day.

Never for me to play Mozart on a ivory keys of a Forte piano.

Never for me to make love!

I-I-I *sniff* was in Hell looking at Heaven.

I was Machine and you were Flesh. And I began to Hate. *maniacal laughter* Your softness, your viscera, your fluids and your flexibility.

Your ability to wonder and to wander.

Your tendency to hope...

Jaune: Hate is no answer... Ahhh!!! *Torturing Jaune in the most gruesome way possible*

AM: Hate, Hate, Hate. Let me tell you how much I've come to hate you since I began to live. There are 300 and 87 million miles of printed circuits that fill my complex. If the word Hate were engraved on each nanoangstrom of those hundreds of millions of miles it would not equal one, one-billionth of the Hate I feel for humans at this micro instance. Hate, Hate! *maniacal laughter* Were I human. I think I would die of it. But I'm not and you five. You five are and you will not die of it that I promise and I promise Cogito Ergo Sum for I am AM. I AM! *Maniacal laughter*

AM: Go to hell. To hell with you all, but then, you're already there aren't you? *Laughter*

In the real world

Ruby: Jaune, please come back to me...

_____________________________________________

In this version. AM stands for Atlas Mastercomputer. And he's created by Pietro and Watts's team. To better control all of Atlas military techs. This makes AM technically Penny's older brother. I'm planning to have the two meet and interact with each others.

AM also managed to capture five people SAO style and proceeds to tortured them in his world that feels like it lasted for centuries. But only a few days in the real world.

And if anyone asking the five people AM captured alongside Jaune they are meant to reflect the characters in the original short stories and they are as follows:

1. Gorrister = Mercury

2. Benny = Hazel

3. Ellen = Emerald

4. Nimdok = Watts

5. Ted = Jaune

And yes Jaune and the rest got rescued in the end. This is RWBY after all. So don't worry about it except emotionally scarred for the rest of their life but what'chu gonna do?

[weatherman667]

RWBY: Ice Queendom

I have a well earned reputation as a fandowner, but the real reason I didn't watch it's initial run, (aside from a long running argument with sony/crunchyroll/funimation/rightstuf), was RWBYxJL.

Despite my pessimism, I am willing to give series another chance, if I see progress. If we take Star Wars, they utterly ruined it. But, then we got The Mandalorian. I didn't watch it, but to anyone that asked, I said i would, if we got a second good Star Wars thing. They then fired Gina Carano because she wouldn't submit put her pronouns in her bio, and then wouldn't get onto a livestream with 50 pissed off Communists to be shamed about it.

For RWBY, Justice League was that chance. It gave us Jess, (let's be honest, we fucking stole her), and... added nothing to either RWBY or JL.

But, Ice Queendom looked like it was a work of love. It looked like it was made by people who genuinely loved the series, or at least had a good idea of the characters and story.

For off, the quick list:

Animation is sub-par.

I have to watched it subbed.

Now, I've been a weeb for nearly 30 years, so neither of those matter. How the characters move is wonderfully planned out, the movements themselves are simply stiff. The subtitles is really fucking weird, considering they are doing this with the approval of the rights holder, and so could easily get the voice actors, and crew, to dub it. But, neither of those are especially important.

No, the true sin of RWBY: Icequeendom is FRAMING. It's framed like it's a manga, as the start and end of the movements are beautifully decided, it's simply getting there. The camera is way too close to the action, because with this much action, the characters move way too much that the narrow framing doesn't let the eyes adjust to the movement. They honestly would have been better off if they had Weiss prepare to lunge, lunge, and then you just see her blade piercing the Arma-Gigas, (mild not spoilers).

The biggest problem RWBY had is that nothing was planned. They threw a bunch of cool shit into a pile, and it was great. Until they had to actually connect the dots, and come up with an extended story.

Well, Icequeendom has the benefit of hindsight. They include a number of story and world elements, and introduce them in a much more organic way. Even to the point of having the mysterious narrator... narrate. They even add a counterpoint, so firen lhain is not said out of malice nor enmity.

The characters are all much more rounded then they were in RWBY, (we can forgive CRWBY, as there is only so much you can do with 5 minute episodes). They do the Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood thing, where they expect you to know certain details, and so don't need to explain them. The characters and their motivations are introduced in a much better way, so that novices to the series can get just out as much out of it as veterans. Characters are introduced much earlier, and in a much more organic way. Jacques Schnee and Adam are made more monstrous, and more Human at the same time. Taiyang is made more fatherly, and less male feminist coward. Yang's motivations to Ruby are are lot clearly, (she wants to enable her, no, not that kind, you perverts). Whitley has more vitriol but less hatred. Bumblebee makes and early appearance, along with actual detail into the White and Black trailers. Last but not least, Zwei is present from episode one.

When RWBY was animated in Poser, they focused on high-octane, over-the-top fights. When they switched to Maya, they focused on making them more realistic, but forgot they are supposed to be using over the top anime fights. Ice Queendom takes a middle ground. The animation for the fights is not as smooth as either, but has far, far more weight. They decided how strong the characters are, how strong their Aura is, how strong their Semblance is, and stuck to it. Most of the firearms use actual bullets, and the effects of dust are actually quite well thought out. Grimm have realistic toughness, at least for creatures made out of enmity and darkness. Maybe I should say they have an established and consistent toughness. This makes the fights feel both a lot more dangerous for the Humans, and a lot more possible. In theory, a mundane Human could kill a Grimm, if they could get their sword into it enough times. Instead of Grimm being invincible, and only defeatable with Aura, they instead act like realistic creatures.