#and weiss at the end obviously

[sillytorch]

This is how the plot of Ice Queendom’s gonna start, right?

[anthurak]

Okay, but just the contrast in writing/performance between Jaune and Ruby in their different breakdowns.

Miles is giving Jaune this very up-front, very overt, very traditionally dramatic ‘man losing his mind out of isolation and guilt’ performance. He shouts, he screams, he makes big, attention-getting monologues and outbursts where he lays out all his pains and torments for the audience to hear. Again, all in what we’d call a very ‘traditionally’ dramatic fashion.

Meanwhile, Lindsay is giving Ruby this very restrained, grounded, visceral, far more raw and ugly performance. Ruby is generally quiet and restrained until something sets her off. She doesn’t shout or scream but instead lashes out with things she’s been holding in all this time seemingly at random. She’s not ‘explaining’ what or how her problems are, she’s just VENTING. Because that’s all she CAN do right now.

And it all works brilliantly with both the characters AND what the scene needs to accomplish.

I think from a character perspective, Jaune is making these big, overt dramatic breakdowns in a subconscious attempt to GET attention, as an unconscious cry for help. Specifically, because Jaune is deep down DESPERATE for absolution. He’s become so consumed by guilt over what he did to Penny that it’s now taken over everything he does, and deep down he’s desperate for someone or something to absolve him of that guilt.

But whereas Jaune is dealing with something recent, relatively speaking, what we’re seeing with Ruby is simply the result of coping mechanism she’s been using to compartmentalize, manage and repress her trauma likely her entire life, which has LONG since been pushed past it’s limits, FINALLY breaking down. What we’re seeing start to come out is likely a LIFETIME of repressed pain and trauma. Which ironically she CAN’T let out nearly as obviously as Jaune is doing because she’s still trying to keep it in. Because she doesn’t know HOW to be open with her pain.

And putting Jaune opposite Ruby in this episode only serves to exacerbate Ruby’s problems. Because Jaune’s far more overt and obvious breakdowns just end up drawing the attention of Weiss, Blake, Yang and even the audience AWAY from Ruby’s already subtle and restrained breakdown.

Until it’s too late and Ruby simply checks out entirely.

[dantedsblog]

Jaune: *depressed*

Blake: Hey what is wrong Jaune ?

Jaune: Hello Blake I’m just a bit sad that almost everyone in Beacon has a couple but I can’t find a girlfriend I know it’s not important but I failed with Weiss and perhaps I will fail with everyone… sorry just my thoughts.

Blake: Jaune it’s really bad and all but have you ever thought it’s a bit your fault that you don’t get a hint.

Jaune: Huh ?

3 days ago

Pyrrha: Jaune can you help me to wash my back ? My arms are tired after combat classes.

Jaune: Yeah sure anything for my partner.

Jaune *washed Pyrrha’s back*

Jaune: done.

Pyrrha: *sad* Yeah thanks Jaune…

Flash back ends

Blake: Or that Situation with Velvet.

One week ago

Velvet: *calls Jaune* Jaune can you come to my dorm I can’t sleep alone after a horror movie.

Jaune: Sure *comes to Velvet’s dorm and sleeps on the floor*

Jaune: Good night Velvet.

Velvet: *upset* Good night Jaune.

Flashbackends

Jaune: well she obviously couldn’t sleep and I as a good friend helped her.

Blake: Ok do you remember our conversation yesterday ?

One day ago

Blake: Jaune I want you to help me with my project.

Jaune: No problem what kind of project ?

Blake: The name is you and I on a bed tonight.

Jaune: It’s a strange name for the project.

Blake: …

Now-days

Jaune: well…

Blake: Oh my god just f*#% me already !

[baileybeez]

My Top Ten Favorite Bumbleby Moments (My Opinion Obviously)

10. All Fight Scenes

I know I'm technically cheating on this one but whenever these two fight, I know I'm in for a good time. And all of them have been superb. These two are in sync without even communicating with each other. They know each other's abilities and know how to work together well in combat.

9. We're Protecting Each Other

This was a 'you had to be there' moment. It was insane. Even knowing these two would eventually confront Adam, the way they did it blew my mind. I loved seeing these two stand up together to confront Adam and become each other's strength's. They had each other's backs in this moment and were going to do it together.

8. We Were There For Each Other

This moment lived in my head rent free for months after the episode came out. They held hands before this to comfort each other during stressful times. Like Blake reaching out to apologize to Yang when she lost her arm and Blake reaching out when Yang's hand started to shake because of Adam. But this time, Yang reached for Blake in a moment of peace. After everything that happened, she forgave Blake and accepted her after everything they went through together. And all she wanted to do was just hold her hand again.

7. Volume 8 Reunion

The amount of gushing I and many others did during this moment was crazy. We were starved for Bumbleby interactions in Volume 8, especially after Volume 7 did so many with them both. After 24 hours of craziness, the two are at peace once again. Blake at first is worried since they did separate missions Yang might be mad that they didn't work together. But all Yang did to reassure her was smile and the two touched foreheads and later embraced each other. It was such a sweet moment.

6. Date Night

Volume 7 had so many good little bee moments that were adorable and I'm a sucker for fluff. Blake getting her new hair and Yang struggling to compliment it, the selfie, Blake falling asleep on Yang's lap with Yang holding her etc. But the two going to a club and off handedly mentioning they're gonna ignore Team FNKI just to have their own fun. You two can just call it a date, we won't judge lol. With Yang trying to teach Blake how to dance and Blake struggling to learn while laughing. I love how whenever Yang cracks a joke, she looks at Blake because she wants to make sure she see's Blake laughing. Not to mention Nora's comments later in the episode.

"Blake and Yang are off doing they're own thing again."

"Friends huh? Just friends?"

"Two people who have gone through that much? I think there's more going on."

And I will forever be mad RT didn't show us them at their date.

5. The Burning Candle

Ya'll this was the spark that ignited the ship. Not only is the Burning Candle just a great episode but it's an amazing moment for Blake and Yang. We get to see these two open up and communicate their wants and desires. With Yang telling Blake about her past and trying to help Blake so she doesn't push herself too far. And then of course at the end Yang gives her that wink and says 'I'll save you a dance'. Then we later see the two dancing. It was also the first time we saw Blake laughing and happy and it was all because of Yang. Yang who just asked for a dance in return for helping Blake and opening up about her past. I was sold on this ship when this episode came out.

4. How Disarming ~

The gay in my brain would not stop buzzing at this moment. It's amazing seeing how much Blake was the one openly flirting and initiating playful touch. There's a great post by @wixhing0nastar going over Blake's body language throughout the volumes. How a lot of the times Blake is more closed off in her posture, like how she holds herself. But here, she's leaning into to Yang's space and just playfully nudging her. She's not holding back. Also I swear I could hear Blake purr when she said 'How disarming'. Like my breath got caught in my throat. And then when Weiss said 'About time'. I knew this volume had to be the one where they finally get together.

3. Volume 9 Reunion

This is my favorite reunion of Bumbleby. Especially since we had to wait for so long for these two to be reunited. Blake was distraught last volume as she failed to save Yang and thought Yang died in front of her. Yang who had always been there to help her and fight by her side. And the first thing Blake does when she gets a free chance is to tackle hug Yang and hug her tightly. Softly whispering Yang in both disbelief and joy. And Yang simply holds her to reassure her like she did in Volume 8. Honestly, if Weiss and Ruby weren't there they would have probably stayed like that for hours lol.

2. I'm Not Gonna Break My Promise

This used to be my favorite Bumbleby moment of all time and for good reason. Blake and Yang had killed Adam. The first thing Blake does is weep and fall to her knees. She's gone through so much and much of it had to do with him. Her torment of him is over and the person she once knew was dead. And Yang wordlessly just holds her and lets Blake cry. Blake finally gets out that she won't break her promise and swears it. Earlier Adam had mockingly told Yang that Blake made a promise to him once and that she didn't follow through with it. And even earlier in the volume Blake had promised to be there if they faced him. Yang has seen Blake stood by her words with her actions. And just reassures Blake she knows Blake won't break her promise. No more words are exchanged as the two just hold each other and Blake just cries more.

The Confession and Kiss

Was anyone really surprised? I know I wasn't. I loved the number 2 moment on my list so much. But I knew as soon as we got the confession and kiss scene it would more than likely take my top spot. It was all a matter of how it was executed and it was done spectacularly. There's many essays and write ups on why this scene was so good so I apologize if I don't add much to the conversation.

But Blake and Yang are stuck in a punderstorm and are trying to figure out how to get out. With them eventually figuring out they need to say things about each other they've never said before. At this point the two have only really said cute things to each other and then Blake comes out with.

'I think....you're an extraordinary person.'

Honest to god I was already getting emotional from just that as Blake goes in some more. Talking about how Yang does what she says, she brightens others around her and is always brave even when she's scared. The looks and the song Worthy playing in the background only add to how monumental this moment was for me. With Yang talking about how she liked how Blake wasn't intimidated by her even back when they didn't get along. She also talks about how Blake doesn't give up on people even when other people hurt her and she never gives up because she knows what matters to her. Blake has tried to help others and has sometimes failed but she has tried to push through despite labeling herself as a coward. But Yang see's a person always trying to do what's best for the people she loves.

Then we get this moment.

These are my favorite expressions of the whole scene. It's so wholesome, pure and full of love in every detail. At this point the two know what needs to be said but Yang is at first hesitant and the bridge between them widens. Blake asks if Yang thought of something then didn't say it and Yang is so bashful as she is realizing she needs to say those three words. But Yang is scared, she compares it to a cliff and if she goes through with it she'll fall. I've always headcannoed that Yang's greatest fear is letting those she loves down. And that ties into how she fell at Beacon and fell in Volume 8. It can also tie to her with the aftermath of Mercury and feeling she let her team down. She's scared she won't be good enough and will lose it all. It also similarly ties into her abandonment issues.

But Blake points out, they're already falling. Their emotions aren't going to go away just because they're scared. They're already worried for each other when they're fighting to save the world and two thought they were dead last volume. With Blake thinking Yang died and she failed to save her. So Blake encourages Yang gently by telling her to say it.

And after a heavy sigh, Yang confesses with Blake jumping in before she can finish as the two say I love you. The bridge that separated them is gone and they're together. They look at each other with blushing cheeks with Worthy playing in the background. They pull into each other, Blake slowly smiling as they get closer and kiss each other. White lilies sprout from under them as the while lily symbolizes rebirth and rejuvenation of the soul. The flowers are also used at weddings and can also mean purity. It's such a perfect flower to fit this perfect this scene.

And there you have it, my top ten Bumbleby moments. There were lots of moments to choose from and so many of the ones I love unfortunately didn't make it on this list. So here are some honorable mentions down below.

[hamliet]

Do you have any thoughts on how RWBY handled the white fang storyline?

Unpopular opinion: it's decent?

Now, now, before people come at me with pitchforks: yes, it's overly simplified. The entire story is a fairy tale, though, so that's not out of place. It also complements the rest of the story thematically, and manages to incorporate nuance and complexity in despite the simplification of issues.

I think it's a mistake to look at the White Fang as a 1=1 of the real life struggles of marginalized groups. That said, there obviously are parallels, and so people aren't mistaken to note those. I just think it's not meant to be an instructional manual and shouldn't necessarily be viewed as one, but rather a conversation starter in some ways. And yes, those conversations can and should include critiques.

So I'll go over the points that I think it did well and how those ties into real life, but also specifically how they work for RWBY's overall story. This does not negate criticisms, especially those by marginalized groups.

In contrast to some other fictional depictions, RWBY actually is better as well because it avoids the number one pitfall of such issues: the X-Men fallacy. I've talked about this in terms of Attack on Titan before, but essentially it's the idea that the problem with depicting discrimination against superpowered people is that, well, there is a logical reason for people to be concerned about superpowers; hence, it almost justifies that very discrimination it seeks to condemn. This isn't present in the faunus/human divide. They are both capable of superpowers.

It also doesn't fall into another common pitfall: the idea that people have to be perfect to be victims of discrimination. The White Fang... has senselessly and cruelly murdered people; doesn't mean faunus discrimination isn't also cruel and senseless and doesn't justify it. And this is something that we do see in real life too--people trying to either completely whitewash the actions of radical anti-oppression movements, which can do awful things, or trying to use these awful things as evidence that these people deserve discrimination when really it's a result of rage and desperation at a society that refuses to give them anything. That doesn't justify the pain of the victims of the awful things (see, Weiss) but nor does it negate the righteousness of that anger.

It does portray the faunus as a fairly diverse group too, when fiction often portrays marginalized groups as a monolith. That's not true. People from one group have very different ideas about what liberation looks like, and what they want to achieve. People in marginalized groups are people, and they can be motivated by a variety of selfless principles and egotistical validation, and neither negate the other. See, Sienna vs. Ghira vs. Adam.

Now, of course within RWBY Ghira's more nonviolent principles more or less win out. That's because RWBY is again a fairy tale where you have to fight to live, but that also doesn't endorse violence. If you expected otherwise, wrong genre. Of course the real world is far more complex, but it's not as if there is no real world basis for this either. Peacemakers exist, and nonviolence has accomplished a lot before. Whether or not that's the be-all-end-all of the faunus struggle in RWBY isn't even clear, so I don't think it's intended to be the be-all-end-all preached moral as it applies to the real world either.

Story-wise, the White Fang functions as a Jungian shadow of society. If you do not take charge of your own life, you are letting others decide for you. The faunus who disagree with the White Fang take it back, because they have to acknowledge it to move forward in society. They have to integrate with it, and accept their own humanity: capable of good and what they might rather deny.

This faction--the faunus who don't like the White Fang--are represented in Ghira, who becomes passive and steps back from aspects of the movement. However, when Blake arrives in Menagerie, this changes, because Blake's entire arc is about integration. Ghira then becomes active, working for the rights of the faunus and for the White Fang to be better rather than simply disavowing the White Fang in an attempt to be a good person, because doing nothing isn't exactly good.

On a more character level, the White Fang exists for Blake's arc. Her Jungian archetype is the Shadow. Like, it's literally her semblance's name. Hence, the idea of the shadow is gonna be important. If you want more on this, @aspoonofsugar has written a meta on it here and another here.

So, for Blake, on a personal level the White Fang (especially under Adam) represents the parts of herself she doesn't like. The part that ran from her family. The part that is violent. And yet, she cannot abandon it or simply disavow it. No, the answer is instead:

We’re not going to destroy the White Fang. We’re going to take it back.

She has to integrate with it, take the good--the righteous anger, the focus on justice and equality.

The White Fang also comments on the microcosm/macrocosm of alchemy.

For the unaware, RWBY is an alchemical story, and the principles of alchemy are represented in the symbol for the philosopher's stone, as seen above. Microcosm: the smaller circle enclosing two people in the center who come together (hence chemical weddings). The square is the four elements: water, earth, fire, air. The triangle is body, heart, and mind. The larger circle is the macrocosm.

The Shadows for Blake on a personal level--microcosm--is Adam. The Shadow on a worldwide, big picture scale--the macrocosm--is the White Fang. Integrating with the shadow isn't only an individualistic endeavor, but also one that benefits society as a whole and brings life to the entire world. The main point of alchemy's philosopher's stone, which Blake, along with the rest of RWBY, are symbolically being transformed into.

I think the main issue with the White Fang, by the way, is its handling of Adam. Typically you don't kill the shadow, though I do think Blake kinda had no choice. Still, I don't think the show fully explored him.

Yet what does work with what we have is that Yang has to face Adam, Blake's shadow, to be with Blake. Yang losing her arm to Adam parallels her being upset about losing Blake to fear, because symbolically Blake can hurt her deeply in the way only a lover can. Blake has to stop running from her shadow and allow herself ot be known and seen by Yang to be with her.

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

*In the Narrative Void of Maidenhood*

Penny: Thank you Fria. I'll do my best.

Fria: I know you will-

Pyrrha: *Sprinting in for nowhere* PENNY!

Penny: Pyrrha?!?!

Pyrrha: *Grabbing Penny's Shoulders* Penny, Listen to me, This is of Utmost Importance.

Penny: I Would Figure?!?!?

Pyrrha: You NEED to date Jaune!

Penny: ... What?

Pyrrha: Listen, Jaune needs a girlfriend that's Either Redheaded or a Maiden, so if you don't go for him, the last Option is Cinder, Which obviously can't happen!

Penny: What about Nora?

Pyrrha: Her and Ren are together, and if you think I'll let anyone screw with my OTP I'll come back to life to end them. Renorarc cannot Happen!

Penny: What about my chemistry with Ruby? And/or Weiss? Or Weiss and Jaune's Chemistry?

Pyrrha: you can date any of them and Jaune, but you have to date Jaune! Weiss had her Chance to take him alone, but she Missed it!

Penny: ... How did you come to these conclusions?

Pyrrha: It's so fucking Boring in the afterlife.

G.o.L: THERE YOU ARE *Grabs Pyrrha, Struggles* COME! BACK! TO! THE! AFTERLIFE!

Pyrrha: REMEMBER WHAT I TOLD YOU PENNY! REMEMBER WHAT I TOLD YOOOOOOUUUUUU ....

[novankenn]

You Don't OWN ME!

Jacques Schnee had come to Beacon on a mission. The being a huntress foolishness of Weiss was going to end, and he was here to bring her back to Atlas, back to the SDC. It was time for her to be the figure head of the family's company. Stepping off his private bullhead, he saw Weiss standing a little distance off, obviously waiting for his arrival.

Jacques: Weiss.

Weiss: Father? Wh... what are you doing here?

Jacques: Don't stutter, it is unbecoming of one of your station.

Weiss: My apologies father.

Jacques: As for why I am here. I have come to fetch you. There has been enough of this Huntress foolishness.

Weiss: Excuse me?

Jacques: Go pack you things. You are coming with me back to Atlas.

Weiss: Excuse me?

Jacques: I will not be repeating myself. Now hurry.

Weiss: Ah... no.

Jacques: What did you just say?

Weiss: I said no. I am staying here, I am staying with my friends, and I am continuing with my training.

Jacques: I SAID you are coming back to Atlas There is NO discussion!

Weiss: I said no.

Jacques: You are my child, and you will do as you are told!

Weiss: No.

As Weiss was standing her ground a public bullhead landed, allowing Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos to disembark. The pair saw Weiss, and proceeded to walk over to see what was going on.

Jacques: This is the LAST time I am telling you. Go and pack. You are returning to Atlas with me.

Weiss: No I am not. I am staying here.

Jaune: Weiss is everything okay?

Pyrrha: Is this man bothering you?

Jacques: This is a family matter. It is of no concern of either of you.

Weiss: Yes it does concern them.

Jacques: It does not. Now, go get your things, or we will be leaving without them.

Weiss: You don't own me...

Jacques: You are my...

Weiss: They OWN me!

Jacques chokes on his own spit as Weiss grabs Jaune and Pyrrha's hands. Weiss: (Giving her father a sinister grin) Father... this is Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc... my fiancees

Jacques: (Choking) WH...WH... WHAT!?!

Weiss: Don't stutter father, it's unbecoming. Oh, Pyrrha?

Pyrrha: Yes?

Weiss: I think it's time.

Pyrrha: Really? This soon?

Jaune: Time? Time for what?

Weiss: You think we can do it?

Pyrrha: Between the pair of us, easily.

Jaune: What are you guys going on about?

Jacques: En... Enough of these games! Weiss...

Weiss: Oh this is not a game... father...

Jaune: I'm confused.

Pyrrha: (Kissing Jaune's cheek) Don't you worry, sweetie... it'll all make sense when we start.

Jaune: Now I'm even more confused.

Weiss: I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing, father... but if you had BOTHERED to contact me you would have found out that I am going to stop training as a huntress...

Jacques/ Jaune: Huh?

Weiss: And become a full time stay at home mom.

Jaune: WHAT?!?

Jacques: Urk... (grabs at his chest and grows pale)

Pyrrha: Let's go back to the dorm Jaune... we have a record to break.

Jaune: Oh god...

Weiss: Should we just break it together... or...

Pyrrha: Or?

Weiss: Each do it separately?

Pyrrha: Ohhhh.... I like that idea!

Jacques: Urk... Ack... Ahh... gaa... (collapses to the ground)

Pyrrha moves around to Jaune's other side, and with Weiss they start dragging Jaune away.

Jaune: God help me!

[lovingdabeessss]

Mini ramble cause I’m tired I’ll expand later probably

Blake and Weiss have trouble with their emotions because of their different kinds of abuse they’ve experienced but they still clearly have them, you know? They talk about them and they talk about it a lot their was a whole arc that was just them talking about their emotions very loudly at each other so having the emotions or expressing it doesn’t really bother them that much

or at least not in every environment, Yang and Ruby are the safest space they got they’ll fight each other to the death around them if they’d let them if you want to have unsavory emotions and unsavory words they’re the two people they’re both comfortable doing it around

It seems like they’re biggest issue with having negative emotions is how other people perceive them and how others react and putting up a front around others unless really comfortable

(What an incredible life changing experience it must’ve been to have that kinda safe space with people who care about you for no reason other then because they do and not for any ulterior motive after so long of not feeling like that to love someone so much you could safely hate them and they’d still ask you include you in ever conversation, it’s like that one measurement of love and comfort where if your kid complains and whines about things you make them do to you then they love you and think your safe to be around and if they’re silent and obedient and distant they think your not)

However with Yang and Ruby it’s not a front they’re not pretending to not feel the emotions they’re actually just not feeling them

They’re refusing to outright

Ruby doesn’t vent till she’s in a universe where GRIM DONT EXIST and then the emotions overwhelm her so much she DIES

Yang does let herself have negative emotions but ONLY anger which is controlled and specifically when she can take that kinda heat she expresses anger not only with the acknowledgment of the risk to herself but also often when other people are also already upset

Yangs semblance is clearly designed to make it easier for her to take hits for others this expression of anger goes along with the fact that it lights her on fire and makes her big and bright she’s making herself a bigger target

Cough cough not subtle metaphor cough cough YOU KNOW LIKE WHAT YOU DO AGAINST BEARS?!?! GOLDILOCKS!?!?!? Cough cough not subtle metaphor cough cough

(And Yang and Ruby will sometimes have breakdowns because of this where everything totally boils over and they have no way of dealing with it and they end up sobbing but even then they usually manage to do it in a closed off room)

Their lives have been centered completely around becoming huntresses and surviving through and killing grim it’s been their whole lives if the grim are attracted to negative emotions it doesn’t matter if you don’t show it on your face it’s GETTING you

To be a hunter you have to choose either:

1- go fucking crazy (all of the teachers at beacon for whatever reason)

2- be good enough at your job to be mentally ill (qrow)

3- DIE

So they just couldn’t feel shit cause they didn’t hav the skill level as children to allow that and survive

And obviously they do feel these things but it’s SOO repressed (Ruby I believe less so but it’s still beneath the surface so she’s good)

Blake and Weiss had a ton of shit to worry about but Blake was always more focused on other people as enemies and only had to personally worry about that after she joined the white fang and learned how to fight and I GENUINELY believe that the forest with Ruby was the first time Weiss’s isolated SKY CITY looking ass ever saw a real grim in person and not her sisters fake ones

And I think this is just really interesting because of how long it might’ve taken Yang and Ruby to realize the difference between their partners and them and why I think it might’ve led to interesting interactions but they’d probably never outright talk about it with them because it might lead to emotions

[etincelleart]

Okay but, I just had a thought: Imagine Penny having enough emotional awareness to recognize that her relationship with Ruby is similar to the bond between Blake and Yang, but NOT enough awareness to recognize that Blake and Yang are a couple.

This would obviously change if she saw Blake and Yang make out, but until then...

(Bonus points if Weiss just RECOGNIZES that she's going to have to deal with MORE oblivious mutual pining even though Blake and Yang finally confessed and got together. Her Suffering will never end, such is her curse.)

That honestly would be super funny

I think as you say she could understand and recognize the similarities, but only be like "...oh. ........oooh." after seeing Blake and Yang make out aha.

And Weiss is destined to stay between all of these oblivious and secret feelings forever lol

[superiorsturgeon]

Winter: Where have all of you BEEN!?! It has been Six MONTHS since we last saw you!

Ruby: what!!!

Emerald: well, duh? Wasnt us looking older than you a clue?

Ren: dont be rude, Emerald. Magic was obviously involved and they lost mknths of their lives.

RWBY: *Cringe*

Nora: ......whats with that look? -_-

Jaune: *giggles*

Oscar: uh, Jaune?

Jaune: heh

Yang: O-okay there buddy, we get it. Haha...

Jaune: hehahaHAHAHA- *grabs Yang's shoulders*

Ruby: o-okay, lets maybe calm down.

Jaune: hahahahaha, but IT'S SO TERRIBLE. ON NO, WE LOST MONTHS OF OUR LIVES!!!! MONTHS, EVERYONE. (Shakes Yangs shoulders)

Yang: y-y-eah, we get the jo-ke man-

Jaune: MONTHS OF OUR LIVES WE'RE NEVER GETTING BACK!

Qrow: ddoooooeeeesss someone want to let us in on the joke?

Jaune: *stops laughing abruptly* no joke. Just irony. Moving on. (Walks off)

Willow: ........is that fellow okay?

Blake: *ears flatten* not really, no.

Weiss: im already looking up therapists, but surprisigly they dont have ones that specialize in this kind of thing, okay!

Jaune: *idly brandishing his sword* …and here’s the kicker! Not only did I basically lose decades of my life sitting on a beach and babysitting the suicidal origami people, but after all that I was magically de-aged EXCEPT MY HAIR!!!

Tyrian: *cornered by Jaune in a dead-end street as he was attempting to sneak into Vacuo, now uncomfortably listening to a blonde madman rambling about an insane fairy tale* Umm…that sounds rough, buddy…! 😰

[anthurak]

Dumb/Dramatic/Gay Shit that Blake and Yang probably do while sparring:

-

Blake really likes the IDEA of stylishly tying Yang up in her ribbon so that she can dramatically pull her partner into an embrace and/or pin her to the floor or wall.

Unfortunately, Blake can never seem to get it quite right. Despite her otherwise seemingly supernatural skill in sending Gambol Shroud exactly where she needs it, whenever she tries using it to tie up Yang, she always does something stupid like hitting her girlfriend in the face and/or boobs, accidentally yanking off her prosthetic arm, or that one time GS went around Yang’s neck and almost strangled her.

Obviously Yang doesn’t hold it against her one bit, but Blake still feels super awful and embarrassed about it.

And the one time Blake tried it while they were up-close, she ended up getting them BOTH tangled up and tied together with her ribbon so badly they ended up being stuck for the better part of an hour before Ruby and Weiss found them.

-

Meanwhile, sometimes in the middle of a spar, Yang will just catch the blade of Gambol Shroud with her prosthetic hand. She then tends to either use that to get Blake off-balance to pull her into a hug (generally followed by smooching) or getting Blake into a pin (also generally followed by smooching).

Alternatively, Yang just holds Gambol Shroud in place as the fight comes to a pause, gently caressing the blade with her own metal fingers as she and Blake gaze into each other’s eyes.

And it always makes Blake go weak in the knees.

-

Finally, given their mutual fixation on their ‘Rivals/Enemies-to-Lovers’ roleplaying, both Blake and Yang REALLY like the idea of two rivals trading weapons mid-fight, being so intimately familiar with each other that they can use the other’s weapon just as well as their own.

Unfortunately, Blake and Yang have since discovered that this trope simply does not work with their respective fighting styles.

Simply put, Yang is NOT well-versed in swords, and Blake is NOT well-versed in punching.

Also, they have discovered to their disappointment that Yang’s gauntlets aren’t exactly easy to ‘drop’ or otherwise ‘fall off’ mid-fight. Particularly given that one of Yang’s gauntlets is kind of built into her right arm.

Blake and Yang did try one idea once that involved them trying to ‘trade’ the bladed-scabbard of Gambol Shroud and the left gauntlet of Ember Celica mid-fight.

It… did NOT go well.

Having been observing at the time, Weiss considers it to be by far one of the DUMBEST things she’s ever seen, while Ruby considers it one of the funniest.

[aspoonofsugar]

Hi Sugar!

I was reading your analysis of the five couples you see as endgame (this one here) and I really enjoyed it! But I was wondering; how do you think that Pyrrha plays a role in Jaune and Weiss's relationship? Is it something like Cinder or something unique, or maybe nothing at all?

Hi,

thank you so much for this ask! I really really love White Knight, so asks on its structure and thematic meaning are welcome!

So, Pyrrha is 100% important, as it is Ruby. They both are key for Weiss and Jaune's relationship. Of course, I am headcanoning WK is gonna be endgame. However, even if this isn't the case, I think many of the things below will still hold true in a platonic sense :)

TRIANGLES

Let's consider these two scenes:

What do they have in common?

They focus on Weiss and Jaune

They involve a dynamic among three characters

They deal with the choice of a partner

Both Jaune and Weiss have a specific partner in mind. Jaune wants Weiss, while Weiss wants Pyrrha. However, the end results are different from what they expect. Weiss finds Ruby, while Jaune is chosen by Pyrrha.

Why is that so? It is a case of want vs need. Here is an extract from the above linked meta:

By this point Weiss and Jaune are pursuing a superficial dream of heroes and monsters. They figure their most perfected selves beside the "right" patner.

On the one hand Weiss wants Pyrrha to be the "knight" to her "princess":

Weiss: This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! Together we will be unstoppable!

She wants someone strong (body) that complements her intelligence (mind). She thinks that in this way she can't fail.

On the other hand Jaune wants Weiss to be the "princess" to his "knight":

Jaune: Don't worry! No need to be embarrassed! So, been hearing rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me would make a good one! What do you say?

He wants someone who is beautiful and looks frail, so he can protect her. He thinks in this way he can appear strong.

Both are wrong obviously. This is why they end up with respectively Ruby and Pyrrha as partners.

Weiss needs to realize what complements mind is not body, but heart. This is why she is paired with Ruby, who lacks physical strength, but has more than enough heart to guide Weiss. Throughout the initiation, Weiss herself has to act as a Knight by saving Ruby from the Nevermore. And later on, she needs to follow Ruby's plan (so Ruby's mind) to take down the Grimm and pass the trial.

Jaune needs to realize a real knight is not physically strong, but is wise (mind) and brave (heart). This is why he ends up with Pyrrha, who is both and challenges him in two different ways. She doesn't fit feminine stereotypes and sees Jaune's value not in his superficial traits, but rather in his willingness to help. Throughout the initiation, Jaune shows this by staying behind to lead others into kiling the Grimm.

In short, Jaune wants Weiss, but needs Pyrrha, while Weiss wants Pyrrha, but needs Ruby. Let's make two considerations:

1- WK is built on "triangles". A triangle is a trope where one character wants another, but this other wants a third person, who is instead interested in the first. This is obvious in Weiss, Jaune and Pyrrha's dynamic. Weiss wants Pyrrha, who wants Jaune, who wants Weiss. The song Dream Come True strengthens this idea, as Pyrrha sings to Jaune, while throwing shades at Weiss.

Obviously, the triangle is quickly solved. Weiss warms up to Ruby as her partner and Jaune gives up on Weiss and falls for Pyrrha.

Still, this early setting is important. As a matter of fact RWBY plays with romantic archetypes in its ships. Two examples:

Renora deconstructs and reconstructs the childhood friend to lover trope. Usually, there is a character, who falls first and supports the other, until their love is reciprocated. Here, though, Nora eventually realizes that to stay with Ren, she needs to grow as her own person. Both partners need to change, so that their dynamic can transform.

Bumbleby uses a harem to explore Blake's developing interiority and animus. Each one of Blake's love interests tie into her sexuality, inner maturity and fairy tale symbolism. By going through Blake's "harem", we get many different relationships that help Blake explore herself, until she is ready for Yang.

In short, RWBY gets inspiration from love tropes, but it makes them thematic. The same can be said about WK and triangles. The point isn't that W,J and P or W, J and R are in romantic triangles, but rather that these characters make 2 thematic trios. In other words, Pyrrha and Ruby foil Weiss and Jaune and are both important for their relationship. Similarly, Weiss and Jaune's bond is key for their respective dynamics with Ruby and Pyrrha.

2- Weiss and Jaune's want vs need struggle applies to more than just the choice of a partner. It actually defines their whole arcs.

Weiss wants to honor her family legacy, but needs to define herself outside the Schnees. Jaune wants to be a strong hero, but needs to love himself for who he is. That said, Weiss and Jaune will both realize their early want. Weiss is gonna define a new legacy for the Schnee Family. It is just that the SDC is no more a part of it. Jaune is gonna bloom into a hero. It is just that true heroes are not always the strongest. Both are getting their want, but in an unforeseen way.

The same holds true for their preferred partners. Weiss is getting Pyrrha (yes, really) and Jaune is getting Weiss. Confused? No worries, it will all be clear in a minute ;) For now, let's analyze both Whiterose and Arkos and what they mean for White Knight.

WHITEROSE - HUNTRESSES

Weiss and Ruby are each other's "hunting" partners. They fight side by side to save lives and pursue the same dream of becoming Huntresses. This is the thematic heart of their relationship, which is mirrored in their intertwined allusions. As a matter of fact there is a Hunter in both Snowhite and Little Red Riding Hood.

On the one hand Snowhite's Hunter is weak. He wants to help Snowhite, but all he can do is not to kill the princess and to leave her alone in the woods. On the other hand Little Red Riding Hood's Hunter is the hero of the fairy tale. He kills the wolf and saves the protagonist and her grandmother. What does it mean for Whiterose?

It ties in how Ruby inspires Weiss. Let's consider this scene:

Ruby: Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath...

In the fairy tale, the Hunter kills a boar to help Snowhite. It is his one good deed. Similarly, Weiss kills a Boarbatusk with Ruby's help to act as a true Huntress. This is why the Grimm later on becomes an avatar symbolic of Weiss's Huntress side:

Port after Weiss kills the Boarbatusk: Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!

Weiss in the aftermath of the party where she summons the Boarbatusk for the first time: The Schnee family legacy isn't yours to leave. It's mine, and I'll do it as a Huntress.

The metaphor is clear. Ruby (LRRH's Hunter) inspires Weiss (SW's Hunter) to grow into a hero. She leads Weiss towards a better version of herself:

Weiss: Just know that I am going to be the best teammate you'll ever have!

This is the perfect set-up for Weiss to eventually inspire Ruby back. For her to become the Huntress who saves Little Red Riding Hood:

Weiss: I don’t know who you think you are, but let me tell you who I am: I am the granddaughter of a hero and a child of a villain. I am a citizen of a fallen Kingdom and an heir to nothing. I will not be defined by my name because I will be the one to define it. I am Weiss Schnee, and I am a Huntress!

Past Ruby: So, are you a Huntress? Like the ones you read about in books? Ruby: I… I don’t know…

Volume 9 offers Weiss a perfect chance. Ruby is lost and is eventually eaten by two Big Bad Wolves (Neo and the Curious Cat). However, Weiss fails:

Ruby: Don’t worry. We’ll find a way outta here and we’ll go back home. Weiss? Weiss: It's… It’s all gone… There’s nothing left for me to go back to… Just like Beacon… Ruby: You did the best you could for Atlas, Weiss. Weiss: But it wasn't enough! We hatched a crazy plan that put a whole kingdom at risk, and we don't even know if we saved the Relics from… Maybe… Jaune and Winter were able to get them out, despite… everything… despite us…

Several times Ruby notices Weiss's pain and tries to comfort her. Several times Ruby is similarly struggling, but Weiss can't support her. Weiss herself explains why:

Weiss: Maybe she didn’t feel like she could… Ruby has always been the one to get us through the hard times. We say things like “We believe in you”, “We can count on you”. I know we mean well, but…

Weiss idealizes Ruby too much and downgrades herself. She thinks Ruby can lead them all, but Weiss has actually grown enough to guide others too. She shows it by helping Jaune:

Weiss: I think you’re asking too much of yourself. We’ve been telling ourselves that failing means we’re no good. But I can guarantee even the best Huntsmen in history… they’ve all lost. But they were still incredibly brave… and good.

Weiss's speech here is an inversion of her initial dialogue with Ruby. There she feels her best is not enough and she drowns in self-hate. Here, she realizes that even if she and her friends lose, they are still good people.

It is a game of mirrors. She fails to see Ruby because she can't help herself. She sees Jaune and saves herself by helping him.

In short, Weiss fails with Ruby, but succeeds with Jaune. I think this is key for Weiss, Ruby and Jaune's dynamic.

At Beacon, Weiss is too immature for Pyrrha and doesn't see Jaune as a romantic partner. She needs Ruby to grow as a person.

In the Ever After, Weiss depends on Ruby too much and needs Jaune (who is Pyrrha's legacy) to develop.

So, she grows with Ruby until she and Jaune are ready for each other. Now, her bond with Jaune is helping her to bloom in the friend Ruby needs. It is a virtuous cycle where both Ruby and Jaune help Weiss mature, so that she can be the best partner ever. Platonic for Ruby and romantic for Jaune (imo).

If this turns out true, then Weiss's Nevermore might be tied to both Ruby and Jaune (other than to her team and family).

It is already strongly associated with Ruby, as team RWBY killed the Grimm together. Moreover, Weiss first tries to summon it to save her partner:

Later on, she materializes its wings while fighting with her team minus Ruby:

And eventually conjures the whole thing, as Ruby comes back:

It is possible the Nevetrmore will be linked to Jaune, as well. After all, he is the one who calls Weiss "Snow Angel". The Grimm is meant to show that Weiss can indeed be an angel to others:

Ruby and Jaune are equally important for Weiss. She needs Ruby to end up with Jaune and she needs Jaune to be the Huntress Ruby deserves. At the same time, Ruby and Jaune represent two sides of Pyrrha, the partner Weiss initially wants.

I usually don't use spinoffs, but I think Ice Queendom makes it pretty clear:

Weiss looks at Pyrrha in awe, but the ones she needs are Ruby and Jaune.

Ruby is a paragon, just like Pyrrha. She has both mind and heart, like our Achilles. The main difference is that Ruby is younger, so she lacks experience and fighting prowess. Weiss needs Ruby for 2 reasons:

She needs to reconcile with her inner-child that has been suppressed by Jacques's abuse:

Weiss: I always wanted bunk beds as a kid.

She needs to see what's important is the heart (Ruby's idealism) and not the body (Pyrrha's fighting skills).

What about Jaune? In which way is he Weiss's Pyrrha? Let's discover it.

ARKOS - ANIMA

Pyrrha is Jaune's partner and his love interest. She is also the key character of Jaune's story, as his allusion makes clear. Jeanne d'Arc is a maid whose actions are inspired by God. Similarly, Jaune is a knight able to perform miracles:

Whose hands and resolve are guided by his Goddess:

Jaune: No. I don't think I'm healing her. Our Aura heals our bodies. It feels… it feels more like I'm using my Aura to amplify hers! Nora: Wait, aren't you worried about running out? Jaune: Pyrrha once told me I've got a lot of it. I still believe her.

Pyrrha is Jaune's deity and inspiration:

Pyrrha: For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee.

So, Jaune's arc is about:

becoming like Pyrrha

overcoming Pyrrha's death

Still, how can Jaune become like Pyrrha, while leaving her behind? Aren't these 2 objectives contradictory? Only superficially. What Jaune must do is to integrate with his anima. In Jungian Psychology, the anima is the feminine part of a man. It is a side, which is often suppressed, but that needs to come to light for the man to truly mature into a balanced person. A person, who can have positive and healthy romantic relationships.

This is the crux of Jaune's character. He is inspired by Jeanne because she is both maid and knight. Similarly, Jaune must transform into a knight, who is also a maiden. A hero who overcomes his toxic masculinity by accepting his feminine parts. The only way for him to succeed is to integrate with his anima, who is represented by Pyrrha. From the first meta linked:

Jaune's journey through the anima is well conveyed through 4 stages, which stand for archetypical female figures. Each one represents a different level of maturity:

Eve is the mother - The boy has no romantic attachment and sees the woman as a source of protection and nourishment

Helen is the seductress - The boy feels romantic attraction and sees the woman as a talented individual, but pays no attention to her spiritual or inner life

Mary is the virgin - The boy feels mature love and sees the woman as a paragon of virtue, but pays no attention to her negative traits

Sophia is wisdom - The boy is ready for a relationship with a woman as an equal partner and sees the feminine as a source of wisdom with no need to objectify the woman anymore

These phases describe Jaune's general approach to women and how it changes. He arrives at Beacon looking for a girlfriend because that is what a man should do, which in itself is a very childish behavior. Then he grows to see the girls around him as powerful individuals, but he can't go behind the surface. This is true for Weiss, but also for Pyrrha, whose struggles he ignores. After her death, Pyrrha becomes an ideal, but she isn't the only one. For example, Jaune believes Weiss and Ruby can save Pyrrha from Cinder and later on he keeps idealizing them. In volume 9, he learns to let go of his idealization and to see others as their own people. He is stepping into Sophia (wisdom).

Pyrrha is Jaune's anima in the sense she represents the feminine side Jaune needs to acquire. At the same time, the way Jaune's relationship with Pyrrha changes highlights the boy's maturation:

Eve > Jaune is nurtered and protected by Pyrrha to the point he even compares her to his mother:

Jaune: Bring it on, Ice Queen! I'll have you know that I have been told that I am a natural born leader! Weiss: By who? Your mother? Jaune: A-and Pyrrha! Pyrrha: Hello again!

He feels no attraction towards her.

Hellen > Jaune grows attracted to Pyrrha, but struggles to understand her interiority. For example, he is unable to see her feelings for him or to fully grasp her inner conflict about the Maiden powers:

Pyrrha: I don't know if I can do it. Jaune: Of course you can. The Pyrrha Nikos I know would never back down from a challenge. And if you really believe it's your destiny to save the world… you can't let anything stand in your way. Despite Jaune's intentions, this doesn't bring relief. Instead, Pyrrha looks absolutely shattered, covering her mouth as she begins to sob.

Mary > Jaune idealizes Pyrrha and sees her as a paragon of heroism and virtue. He tries to emulate her and to become a hero like her:

Jaune: I think… I think she knew she wasn't going to win. That she might not come out alive. But… she also knew she was the only one that could try. Ren: So she did. Nora: Maybe we should too. Jaune: Yeah, we should.

This idealization is heartwarming, but it's what's keeping Jaune stuck. He can never overcome Pyrrha's death if he transforms her into an idol. Not only that, but it is something Pyrrha herself would not have wanted:

Pyrrha: I've been blessed with incredible talents and opportunities. I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise, but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place. Everyone assumes I'm too good for them. That I'm on a level they simply can't attain. It's become impossible to form any sort of meaningful relationship with people. That's what I like about you. When we met, you didn't even know my name. You treated me just like anyone else. And thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. I guess, you're the kind of guy I wish I was here with. Someone who just saw me for me.

Pyrrha is drawn to Jaune because he is the only one who does not put her on a pedestal. However, after her death, this is what our Knight does to an extent. So, a good resolutioin would be for Jaune to see Pyrrha for who she is. A brave girl Jaune loves and who dies too soon. This is the only way Jaune can forgive both Pyrrha and himself. This is where Weiss (Sophia or Wisdom) steps in:

Curious Cat: I am talking about you, Wise Huntress.

Let's compare these 2 scenes:

Both have Jaune struggling with grief and self-hate. In the first one, he has just lashed out at Oscar out of anger for Pyrrha's death. In the second one, he has just lashed out at Ruby out of anger for the paper pleasers ascending. Both times, he is doubting himself. Both times, a woman comes and reassures him. The first time, Pyrrha's mother/ghost/vision encourages him to keep going. The second time, Weiss encourages him to let go. Both scenes end with a family like re-union (team JNR and team RWBY).

Not to count there are mystical leaves flying around:

Someone coming back in an unexpected form:

And a giant stone:

Both situations emphasize that even the best heroes fail. Still, they give this lesson a different spin. Pyrrha teaches Jaune the importance of going on despite the risk of failure. Weiss teaches Jaune the necessity of forgiving one-self for failure. Pyrrha acts as Mary and guides Jaune towards an ideal. Weiss acts as Sophia and leads Jaune towards his real self.

The final stage of the anima is about seeing one-self and the other clearly, both strengths and weaknesses. The romantic partner stops being objectified and is simply accepted as their own person. So, Jaune's final step towards self-actualization will be to let go of Pyrrha's idealized memory and to embrace Weiss, for whom she really is. This conclusion would be perfect for his bond with both girls:

Jaune would overcome Pyrrha's death by stopping his idealization of her. He would put Pyrrha down from her pedestal and love the girl in all her beauty and contradictions. He would finally be able to understand her fully, which is what he fails to do at Beacon.

Jaune would love Weiss for her true self, instead than her superficial beauty. He would appreciate the girl because she shares some of Pyrrha's best qualities, like her bravery and her heart, which is that of a Huntress. He would accept some of Weiss's most masculine traits, that he initially ignores.

In other words:

Jaune needs to mature by Pyrrha's side to be ready for Weiss

Jaune needs Weiss's help to face the memory of Pyrrha properly

As a matter of fact only by seeing Pyrrha clearly, Jaune can fully integrate with her, which means he can fully bloom into a hero like Pyrrha. Not only that, but he can succeed, where Pyrrha fails. What are Pyrrha's 2 objectives?

Pyrrha: I've always felt as though I was destined to become a Huntress - to protect the world

Nothing, even death Could separate our souls 'Cause you're my final goal

Pyrrha's 2 destinies are to be a hero and to be in love. She fulfills them both tragically. Jaune will fulfill them both in a more positive way.

He is guiding Cinder towards her destiny, by conveying the meaning of Pyrrha's words (heroism)

He is getting his happily ever after with Weiss (love)

In other words, Jaune is fulfilling Pyrrha's legacy thanks to Weiss and is ending up with Weiss thanks to Pyrrha.

THE BEAUTY OF WHITE KNIGHT

Let's summarize Weiss and Jaune's arcs.

Weiss's story is about overcoming her father's abuse. This starts with her affirming who she is outside her surname, goes on with her healing her family and it ends with a new legacy and a new romantic interest. The Schnee name is dirtied when Willow is caught in an abusive relationship with Jacques. Their marriage twists Weiss's perception of romantic relationships:

Weiss: All my life, boys have only cared about the perks of my last name.

So, it would be the cherry on top of Weiss's arc for her family to be reborn together with a new love. A bond with someone who genuinelly likes Weiss:

Jaune: It's Weiss. I'm completely head-over-heels for her, and she won't even give me a chance. She's cold, but she's also incredible. She's smart, and graceful, and talented. I mean, have you heard her sing? I-I just wish she's take me seriously, y'know? I wish I could tell her how I feel without messing it all up.

Jaune's story is about loving himself for who he is, as a whole. Strength and weakness. Masculine and feminine traits alike. The path to do so is to integrate with Pyrrha and become the hero she was. At the same time, he needs to work through his grief over Pyrrha's death. Both goals can be celebrated with the beginning of a fresh relationship. A bond with someone Jaune has always admired. That would be Pyrrha's final gift to him:

Pyrrha: Then do it. Tell her exactly what you said. No ridiculous schemes, no pick-up lines. Just… be honest. You can't get it wrong if it's the truth.

This is why I personally don't believe either Weiss or Jaune ending up single fits their stories. Weiss deserves a romantic partner who loves her, so she can write a story different from her parents'. Jaune needs a new relationship to give both himself and Pyrrha closure.

In conclusion, I personally think both Whiterose and Arkos are intertwined with White Knight.

Arkos especially is a part of White Knight. White Knight would not be possible without Arkos. At the same time, Arkos would lack a powerful catharsis without White Knight. They are 2 bonds that are bound to grow and develop thanks to each other.

Thank you for the ask! I hope my rambling made sense :)

[kitkatopinions]

Gonna do a quick headcount of things that SHOULD happen before the end of RWBY. No I will not be leaving out things that would be consequences for stuff from seasons ago, just because it'd feel awkward and clunky at this point doesn't mean it still isn't important because it never WAS addressed. And also note that some of these are obviously more important than others, but they all still should happen.

Ruby and Blake should have preferably more than one moment focused on building their friendship.

Members of RWBYJNROQ who don't have established dynamics need at least small relationship building such as Qrow and Blake, Ren and Weiss, Weiss and Oscar, etcetera.

What happened with Pietro and Maria in V8 needs addressed.

Someone needs to talk to Pietro about Penny.

Blake and Yang need to have a conversation where Blake opens up about her past, they address what happened when Blake left, and they talk about Yang's hesitancy to be apart.

Blake and Sun need to have a conversation (if only in passing) about her being with Yang and establishing that they're still friends.

Nora and Ren need time apart and then need to figure out where their relationship is going.

Nora needs a strong character arc outside of Ren.

Emerald needs more work done in her redemption and needs to face some of what she's done and the people she should logically be emotional about leaving behind.

We need to establish the fallout of Atlas going down and the logically-must-be-there distrust that would sprout up around Hunters, the Military, etcetera.

We need to know what will happen to the Schnees and how they're adjusting to things.

Consequences of revealing the Maidens and magic to the general public.

Someone outside of Ruby and freaking Jaune should grieve Penny such as Winter and the Ace Ops.

Weiss needs to be concerned with helping and/or connecting with Whitley.

Oscar and Ozpin's merge needs to be addressed and talked about and potentially happen or they need to find a work around.

Team RWBY + J should tell their friends what happened in the Ever After.

We need to address the Ruby stuff in V9, Ruby's recovery cannot be super quick, WBY and Jaune especially should step up and admit their part in it.

We need to address what's been happening in Vale.

We need to find out where the last two Relics are and the group needs to work to protect them from Salem.

We need to get the Relics in Salem's hands out of her hands.

We need to know who the Summer Maiden is.

We need to have the group realize that Raven is the Spring Maiden and address Yang's lie.

God knows I hate when he gets focus, but we need Jaune to deal with what happened to him and specifically give some focus to him reuniting with his team and them reacting to him mentally being like forty.

We need to deal with the whole 'once the Relics are united, the gods will come back and wipe out humanity if it isn’t perfect' thing.

People still need to learn to be sympathetic to Oz and not treat him like an enemy.

We need to learn about and deal with whatever Mercury and Tyrian are doing in Vacuo.

We need to establish what's happening with the Ace Ops and Happy Huntresses.

We need to figure out what's happening with Qrow and deal with how he handled Ruby and Yang supposedly 'dying.'

We need to establish what life is like for the Atlas/Mantle refugees and what Vacuo is doing for them.

We need to establish Theodore as a character and why we the audience should trust or like him.

We still need members of Oz's inner circle to emotionally deal with what happened with Ironwood.

We need characters that should by all rights be a bit more important to get brought back in and be at least a little involved such as Glynda, Taiyang, Ilia, and Sun and Neptune.

We need to know what really happened to Summer and deal with the fallout of whatever it is.

Yang and Ruby need something to heal the rift between them.

We need people to figure out a way to defeat Salem.

We need to have people struggling to get people together to fight Salem and deal with possible conflicts surrounding that (considering the fact that having an army was considered a sign of pure evil when it was Ironwood)

We need to defeat Salem.

If CRWBY intends to bring in the Crown from the ATF/BTD books, they need to be established and dealt with as well.

This is all just off the top of my head! Yes, some of these things seem like they're going to be (badly) addressed in passing from the little promo that was originally supposed to end V9, but we don’t know how much of that will change and I personally am unsatisfied with almost everything in it and still think we need further exploring for all that stuff. (And no, I'm not considering Justice League or RWBY Beyond to be good enough if the main series doesn't make sense or have emotional payoff.)

My point here is... There is so much left to do in RWBY (arguably that should've been done AGES ago,) that I'm having a really hard believing much of it will be done. And I fear that whatever they do try to deal with will just be jam packed into the next season at the speed of light with no real payoff and it'll wind up badly done or unsatisfying because of it. Especially if they try to introduce loads more in V10 the way they did in V9.

RWBY is for sure the show with good concepts, because while I was writing out that list, I was sitting here thinking about how some of it could be pretty good and impactful in the hands of good writers. But it's also the show of no emotional payoff, and I seriously doubt that this next season is gonna deliver.

[maxiemumdamage]

I initially said this in the tags of someone’s fanart, but…

When you watch the RWBY trailers, none of then miss, but Yang’s trailer has a VERY different tone than the others. Partially in how it’s arranged, and partly in how it barely tells you anything about her.

I’m gonna start from the top here — first off, the trailers are clearly a progression. Ruby’s was in some ways just proof of concept for the show, but it also gave us the absolute least information as a result. The Red trailer has Ruby wearing a design that still gets tweaked, the song has four lines and they’re more about the whole team than Ruby herself (and even then more about the allusions than the characters in many ways), the designs for the Beowolves/Grimm aren’t yet crystallized as we know them. The Red trailer told us about RWBY, the show, but not Ruby the character.

Like, Red and White don’t even have speech — the songs are the only dialogue. But Weiss’s obviously tells us more; because the song has more lyrics, because she’s singing it in universe, because of the announcer at the beginning who tells us just a little bit of who she is.

And then things change with Blake’s trailer. It’s got the song and the very informative lyrics, but most of the dialogue is actual dialogue. Blake isn’t the only character present. She’s not fighting faceless monsters, but automated robots that are acting as security, which gives us a much better idea of the technological advances made in-universe. We see a whole cool biome in Forever Fall, and we meet a new character in Adam — even if the relationship is being ended as we watch, we do learn a lot about Blake. Plus, her quote most directly relates to the content of the trailer itself.

In some ways, the amount of info we get per trailer is progressively ramping up, right? So it makes sense that in Yang’s trailer, we get multiple characters with unique names and faces, a cool setting, a good bit of dialogue and even an explicit reason for the conflict.

Except we don’t get the actual reason for conflict fully explained until Volume 2. We know Yang is looking for someone, but we don’t know it’s Raven until far later. And Yang sharing that story wasn’t for her own benefit, but Blake’s! Even when Yang gives information about herself, it’s not for herself.

What do we see Yang do in her trailer? She fakes flirting with a guy, twice, just to beat him up. She orders a drink, demands information, starts a fight when she doesn’t get it, throws down with the DJ and two snotty mean girls. She gets mad about losing her golden hair after fighting the three bears — we get an explicit look at her fairy tale allusion at least. And then, crucially, we learn Yang’s name through Ruby. Her sister. Yang is the main character’s big sister, and that’s the last real bit of information we get. The trailer ends with Yang casually avoiding any meaningful explanations. The song is barely even hers! We get one minute of if I Burn, but the rest of the Yellow trailer is backed by remixes of the other three trailer songs. Yang is being defined by her relationships to other characters, but we don’t actually learn a whole lot about those, either. Because her trailer is Yang against the world, with her sister only there after the battle ends.

Yang is telling us nothing about who she actually is — what motivates her, her friends, her enemies. The conflict behind the fight is opened and shut in five minutes, and we don’t know the greater underlying reason for it at all. Yang only shows us that mask of the dumb party girl that she wears in the early volumes, which some people got fooled into thinking was her real character.

In some ways, though, we learn a lot about her. Because by flirting with Junior just to get him close enough to threaten and hit him — twice — she does tell us that the party girl mask is just that: an illusion. A facade she puts up to trick people dumb enough to underestimate her. Yang embraces her mask of the dumb party girl, then adds on the doting big sister. We see so much, but learn so little.

Yang doesn’t even hold the focus of her trailer at the end. Because the last moments of Yang’s trailer are the first times we hear Ruby speak.

[thatorigamiguy]

Jaune: “So when I was a little kid, my second older sister became really addicted to oxytocin. She went from getting A’s to D’s and she looked horrible all the time, but mom and dad just thought that she was under a lot of stress and that the classes were just harder than she originally thought. But her habits ended up getting worse and worse, to the point that she was spending all of her savings and whatever pitiful amount she could get her hands on to support her habit. One day while everyone was out of the house, she grabbed me by the hand and said we were going on a “Field Trip.” I didn’t question it, I was a kid and I had thought that she had come back to her old self even though she looked like absolute hell.”

“So, we ended up taking a bullhead into Vale and went to what I still consider to this very day to be the shadiest looking apartment building, up several flights of stairs to the third floor and she knocks on the door. After a moment, the door opens up and she ushers me inside we’re a I see a really messy room attended by two guys: A super jacked up Tiger Faunus and a scrawny looking human guy. the human guy has a bag in his hand and he askes her with a dubious look “So, how you gonna pay for it this time?”

She immediately responds “I’m paying with him.”

“Him,” being me. That’s right, my sister tried to sell me to the what I now realize were her dealers in exchange for more Oxy. The silence that followed after was deafening and both her dealers could only stare at her in complete disbelief. Angered at their hesitance, she asks them “Don’t you assholes do trafficking or some shit like that? I’ll just tell my parents that he was kidnapped, just give me the damn oxy!”

Another awkward pause of silence as the dealers both share a wary glance at each other, before the Tiger Faunus mutters “It’s a deal” as the human tosses her the bag and she hightails it out of that shithole slamming the door behind her and not even giving me a second look. The tiger Faunus shakes his head muttering about how my sister was a “Crazy Bitch,” before looking down at me with an apologetic look.

“Listen, I’m really sorry about this kid.” He said as he pulled out his scroll, “Here, give me your home phone and I’ll have your parents pick you up. Were do you live anyways?”

I hesitantly tell them that I live in Ansel, causing them to both give me shocked look before the scrawny guy all but shouts “She dragged you on a two hour bullhead ride for this? For fucks sakes, I told you we should’ve stopped dealing to her the moment she started paying us in bags of quarters!”

The two dealers bickered with one another for moment, before the Tiger Faunus called up my mom and the Scrawny guys was kind enough to lend me his DS with Mario on it to pass the time. My parents come and grab me and man I thought they were going to grease the dealers then and there but they let them slide after putting the fear of brothers into the two of them and then took me home. They, quite obviously, learned of what my sister had done from me and the sheer unbridled rage from my mom and the absolute ice cold vitriol my dad expressed to my sister was something I’ll always remember to this day and they pretty much gave her two options: go to rehab and get cleaned up, or not only get kicked out of our home but to have her name banished off the Arc family name to forever be an exile and pariah of the Arc family for the rest of her miserable days in abject shame.

She chose to go to rehab, kicked her drug habit, and managed to get sober after two years and has remained sober since. My parents bought me Pokemon Black and Chrono Trigger for what I went through as compensation.”

Jaune took a drink of his water, a little parched from his rather long story only to take note of the horrified slack jawed looks of both his team and team RWBY. Both Pyrrha and Ruby had tears in their eyes and he swore he heard Weiss muttering under her breath something about “mistreating him to much,” whatever that meant. The awkward silence was broken when Yang, who Jaune had noticed her eyes were red and also a little teary eyed, finally broke the silence.”

Yang: “...Jaune?”

Jaune: “Yes Yang?”

Yang: “...What in the actual fuck?”

Jaune: “Oh you think that was bad? That pales in comparison to this one time-”

[novankenn]

They're... ADORABLE! I Must HAVE!

Winter Schnee, had arrived at Beacon to check-up on her sister Weiss. The siblings were having a rather enjoyable reunion of sorts, and were currently taking a stroll through Beacon's Remnant renown gardens.

Weiss: So that is how everything is going so far... and aside from the attention of an a specific individual I am very content to continue my studies here at Beacon.

Winter: I am impressed Weiss. I would have...

Weiss: Winter? Is there something...

Weiss then notices where Winter's attention was focused, and snorted. Seated on a bench in the garden was Pyrrha Nikos, a champion, a huntress-in-training without peer... and her partner, Joan Arc.

Weiss: I have no clue what SHE sees in that!

Winter didn't respond, watching intently as Pyrrha rubbed comforting circles upon the obviously distraught, young woman.

Weiss: That girl... she should know I'm not interested in anything she has to...

Winter: (Giving Weiss sideways glare) Are you the cause of that?

Weiss: (stammering) Well... um... yes... no... (finally composing herself) she's constantly harassing me with date requests, it's been going on for weeks! I needed to put an end to them... she's... she's a stalker!

Winter: THAT ANGEL? How could you?!?

Weiss didn't know what to say as Winter stormed off, directly towards the pair seated on the bench.

Pyrrha: Um... hello? Can I help you?

Winter: I am Winter Schnee, which unfortunately makes me Weiss' sister...

Joan: (Sobbing) I'm sor...

Winter: Enough of that. I'm here to make amends for my sister's treatment of you...

Pyrrha grew a little apprehensive at the hungry look Winter was shooting Joan and her.

Pyrrha: And how...?

Winter said nothing further as she reached down, and with gentle pressure pulled Joan to her feet...

Joan: EEP! (Finding herself suddenly draped over Winter's shoulder)

Pyrrha: Hey put her dow... (Suddenly unable to move) HEY?!?

Winter: None of that! You're both shall be my guests...

Pyrrha: (Struggling against the black glyph that has immobilized her) Guests?

Winter: To my accommodations... that is where I will be making my apologizes to you and this angel... for Weiss' behavior. You two are much too... adorable... I want.

Winter then starts walking, carting Joan like a sack of flour, while also dragging Pyrrha behind her with a glyph.

Pyrrha: WEISS HELP!!!

Weiss: Winter???