#Rhodes (rwby)

[hadesisqueer]

Remember when Midnight came out and a lot of people said they didn't feel bad for Cinder and her backstory because she was a bad person and she deserved it? Y'all it's okay to hate her now and all but she was ten and a slave and tortured every day. If you think a 10yo deserved that then I think you need to reconsider. Also, you're missing the point: Cinder always saw the worst of humanity. The one person who was kind to her immediately turned against her, deciding she was a villain for [checks] snapping and defending herself after years of abuse he never did anything about except giving her training and a sword (what was he expecting, honestly). And then Salem found her, and she found herself stuck with another abuser, a much smarter and manipulative one.

The whole point of Cinder's backstory isn't to justify her current actions. It's to make us see that if someone—someone else, not Rhodes—had found her, someone who, again, has only seen the worst of humanity, and given her the help and kindness she really needed— Cinder wouldn't have turned out like she did. It's obvious and yet people still don't get it.

[starlightshadowsworld]

The Haven exchange plot line is so underrated and it's a crime it was never bought up again.

Because the potential is sooo good.

The battle of Beacon gets so much more fucked if they acknowledge that.

Like Cinder genuinely caring for RWBY and JNPR and knowing she's going to destroy them.

Having to make that choice.

Which you know, Beacon is all about choices.

And just, in another life this was Cinder's dream.

To be a huntress.

It's a fairytale that she never got to live out.

And than the maiden power shifts from a stranger to a friend.

Than it becomes I have to kill my friend for power.

And under that, because if I don't Salem will kill me and I will no longer serve a purpose to her.

Everything I've done will mean nothing.

Pyyrah getting seperated from Jaune and going to Cinder.

Not to fight her.

But because Pyrrah trusts her.

It's Rhodes all over again.

And she can't even cry because it's her own fault.

Mercury seeing what he could be, and knowing for the plan to work yes going to have to ruin Yang's reputation.

Pretending it doesn't hurt to see the hurt in her eyes.

Emerald who wanted a family knowing this is just an illusion and no matter how much it hurts she has to destroy it.

This was never supposed to last.

Oz holding a hand out to Cinder like I know she's behind this.

We can fix this.

I can save you.

You don't have to do this.

And Cinder shaking her head because she knows he's lying.

You can't even save yourself from her, how can you save me?

Just this bittersweet understanding of the situation they are in.

Oz saying he's proud that she was his student. That it's okay, he can take the fall.

They both knew he will return but he won't be the same

Cinder saying goodbye and setting the place ablaze.

She makes herself watch and puts his cane somewhere safe for Qrow to find.

Salem praises her but Cinder just feels hollow.

Jaune calling her a murderer, that Pyrrah trusted her and she has to pretend she doesn't remember him for her own comfort.

That she knows she doesn't deserve.

She's a monster.

She will always be on the run.

Stabs Weiss and feels like she stabbed herself.

It takes everything in her not to scream.

Emerald joining up with the rest of them and it hurts knowing just how easily she slots into their group.

Like she'd always been apart of it.

And somehow that hurts even more.

Also just fitting with the theme of the schools falling because of a friends betrayal.

Cinder, Emerald and Mercury betrayal caused the fall of Beacon.

Leo's betrayal caused the fall of Haven.

Ironwood's betrayal caused the fall of Atlas.

But those 3 still living unlike the other two and they live to regret it.

If they didn't already.

[dragynkeep]

soulmatism ✨

[mewtheo2]

Rhodes character art

Yeah Rhodes is Mercury's uncle in this fic, had to do something with him.

[celticcatgirl2]

“Whoa…so you’re like…Geralt from the Witcher in real life?”

[anthurak]

So here’s an interesting through that came to me thanks to the discussion on a recent ask:

We still don’t actually KNOW where or who Cinder picked up archery from, do we?

And this feels particularly significant given Cinder’s now very consistent trend of basing her weapons, fighting style, dress, mannerisms, really ALL aspect of her identity on mimicking others. Either those who have molded or hurt her, or those she has fought and killed.

Cinder’s use of swords, either single or paired, is clearly based on the swords she got from Rhodes. To the point where her weapon ‘Midnight’ that she used pre-Maiden powers may have simply been modified versions OF those swords, while the flaming/glass swords she’s been using post-V3 are just straight up copies of Rhodes’ swords.

Meanwhile, post-V3 Cinder has also started making use of a spear, just like PYRRHA used.

And of course, Cinder’s choice of dress and overall mannerisms are very much a mix of Salem and the Madame of the hotel.

So with all that in mind, I think it makes this question all the more curious:

Where, or more likely, WHO did Cinder pick up her use of archery from?

This really feels like it ties into a ‘missing piece’ of Cinder’s backstory that we haven’t seen yet. After all, we still don’t know how exactly Cinder was taken in by Salem. So I have to imagine Cinder picking up archery is somehow tied into whatever was happening when or shortly before she first met Salem.

Given Cinder’s trend of taking aspects of people she’s known or killed, it feels like a safe bet she picked up archery the same way. Perhaps a huntsman that was pursuing Cinder who she ended up killing. Or perhaps this huntsman wound up cornering her, only to be killed by Salem as she suddenly appeared to ‘rescue’ Cinder. Given everything we’ve seen, and the fairy tale allusions, I think it’s easy to imagine Salem appearing suddenly before Cinder to ‘help’ or ‘rescue’ her in a scene darkly reminiscent of Cinderella meeting her Fairy Godmother.

Alternatively, for a really dark scenario; what if this hypothetical bow-wielding huntsman didn’t actually mean Cinder and just wanted to help this clearly lost and scared girl on the run from something. Only for Cinder to kill this huntsman anyway out of the overwhelming fear and paranoia she’d developed towards huntsmen after what happened with Rhodes.

All in all, I’m feeling pretty confident that where/who Cinder picked up archery from represents, if not a core piece of her character, at least an important part of her story and development that we haven’t seen yet. Particularly given, as @kkglinka pointed out here, Cinder has some very notable potential allusions to Paris of Troy. Not just in Cinder’s use of a bow and being the one to shoot Pyrrha, our Achilles, in the heel, but also in how Cinder’s fire motif and bringing destruction to Atlas parallels Paris having been prophesized to bring destruction to Troy via his mother dreaming of him as a torch setting fire to Troy. Or how Cinder’s fixation on the maiden powers parallels Paris setting off the Trojan War by kidnapping the maiden Helen.

Basically, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if us finally learning where/who Cinder picked up archery from happens to coincide with at least a few references to the Iliad. Say, whoever Cinder picks up archery from happening to be a sheep farmer. Or perhaps a sheep faunus.

[but-a-humble-goon]

Something about how Rhodes introduces himself to Cinder by throwing down his weapons to show her he means no harm and then years later the moment that finally truly sends her down the path to becoming a monster is when she looks to him for protection and instead he draws his weapons on her.

[ficretus]

I previously talked about Cinder/Alyx parallels, but there was bit more I've noticed on closer inspection.

Reason why Alyx turned on Jaune was because she thought he was trying to keep her in Ever After. If we assume Cinder is Alyx, that puts Jaune in role of Rhodes. Which when you think about it, makes some sense.

Rhodes was an obstacle to Cinder's escape. He first dissuaded her when she stole his sword before eventually being final obstacle to her escape after she killed her adoptive family. Both Rhodes and Rusted Knight Jaune are not trying to properly understand Cinder/Alyx, both are going through motions. Rhodes is going purely by rules of law while Jaune is going by fairy tale rules, as in, trying to recreate fairy tale as it was written.

Both failed because of that rigidness. Just because some things are law, doesn't mean they are morally correct. Rhodes didn't want to fully cross the line which ultimately resulted in Cinder becoming a person she is today. Meanwhile Jaune was stuck in simplistic fairy tale mindset of heroes and villains. In reality people are more complicated than that and are capable of change (as Alyx' story ultimately showcased). If he perceived Alyx more as a person rather than character, scenario of her poisoning him likely wouldn't have happened.

Final parallel is that both accepted their doomed fate. Rhodes let his guard down in the end and instead of retaliating against Aura broken Cinder, he patted her head. Jaune drank the tea knowing it was poisoned.

I feel all of this sets up Jaune to encounter Cinder again. Alyx was lesson, cautionary tale, that showed he wasn't ready yet. He still had too simplistic and rigid way of thinking about people. To reach Cinder he needs to see her as a person, rather than just a villain.

[brokentrafficknight]

More One Piece AU (ft. Rhodes D. Jobber)

[hadesisqueer]

[rwby-confess]

Confession #504

[annafall]

imagine looking at this bean and NOT immediately grabbing her, sitting her down at the table and giving her a warm meal, a soft bed and warm clothing

[mewtheo2]

Silver Shadow returns Chapter 1

I'm gonna try and fill out this part even if nothing really important happens. And this one is a little bit longer than my other chapters.

[howlingday]

Who would put (misanderist) Cinder in her place?

Personally, if I had to choose anyone, I would say Emerald would be the one who... not put her in her place, but certainly humble Cinder by reminding her that a man was the one who helped her when nobody else would and taught her everything she knew about fighting. That it was a man who put his life on the line trying to stop her time and time again. And that it was a man who helped Emerald defeat Cinder, not because either of them were weak, but because working together, as equals, makes you stronger.

Then again, misandry is kind of an odd topic for me since I don't have any higher opinions on it than "It's bad".

[marcmarcmomarc]

RWBY Volume 10 predictions

Voice cast: deceased characters present in memories 2

Jacques Schnee: Jason Douglas

Leonardo Lionheart: Daman Mills

Tock: Ruth Urquhart

The Hound: Jason Liebrecht

Brawnz Ni: Blaine Gibson

Roy Stallion: Michael Sinterniklaas (newcomer)

May Zedong: Lindsay Seidel (newcomer)

Li Ren: Kaiji Tang

An Ren: Dawn M. Bennett

Dee: Alex Mai

Councilman Sleet: Chad James

Rhodes: Christian Young

Madame: Linda Leonard

Step-Sisters: AmaLee

Back to index

[anthurak]

I mean, technically Rhodes was risking himself just by training cinder in the first place, he may have truly believed that running away meant she’d always be running

The fact he was secretly training her at all was potentially against the law

Answer me something: What actual risk was Rhodes putting himself in by training Cinder? What ACTUAL repercussions might he have faced if it were found out that he was training a young 'servant' (BIG-ass airquotes there) girl? A slap on the wrist? A scolding perhaps? Being banned from the establishment? Like you said, he was only potentially breaking the law.

You know what WOULD have been breaking the law? What would have been a REAL risk for Rhodes to take in order to help Cinder? Getting her out of that hotel.

But he didn't do that, did he?

You can give Rhodes all the sympathetic hand-wringing you like, at the end of the day, Midnight made it abundantly clear EXACTLY how far Rhodes was actually willing to go to help Cinder:

Right up to the point where helping Cinder would require him to break the law. After that? Well that's just too bad. The law which, mind you, was totally okay with child slavery.

When it came down to either helping an abused, tortured young girl, or upholding 'The System', Rhodes picked the system.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Rhodes was not a 'bad' guy, but he also wasn't an especially good guy either. At least not where and when it truly MATTERED to be good.