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nexyra · 3 years

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What is your take on rwby chara's mbti types? I think

Weiss - xSTJ, thought that she was ESTJ at first but ISTJ makes a lot of sense too.

Winter - ESTJ

Pyrrha - ESFJ

Emerald - ISFJ (I've seen some ppl type her as INFJ but I don't see how she is a Ni dom?)

Whitley - ENTJ? I'm honestly not sure abt that..

Adam - fucked up xNFJ, probably INFJ (seen him typed as xNTJ but his delusional thinking process imo screams unhealthy Ti and I think his manipulation of Blake and the WF is more Fe than Te

Qrow - was thinking ISTP but with the more recent volumes I'm really not sure..

Penny - ENFP

Ozpin - Uuuuuh INTP maybe?? But I've seen some people type him as INFJ. INFJ 5w6 would make sense as to why he might appear as an INTP but idk..

Bartholomew- ENTP

Jaune - no fucking idea honestly

Ironwood - ENTJ

Sun - Seen ppl type him as ENFP but I don't see any Ne at all..,,ESFP?

Yang - ESxP, maybe ESTP

Cinder - INTJ

Mercury - ISTP

Oscar - ISFJ

Ren - ISTx?

Hello anon ! I see my love for typology hasn't gone unnoticed 😂 Thank you so much for the ask !

I prefer enneagram over MBTI because I find it easier to type; so fair warning that I'm not an authority on MBTI-typing. But I do have have an ongoing RWBY typing that includes MBTI sooo... here goes !

(I'm putting my ennea typings along with it, but not explaining them on this post)

➸ RWBYJNPR

Ruby • xNFP 6w7 9w1 2w3?

I just can't decide between the two fors Ruby because... it kind of goes both way ??? Like Ruby definitely feels as INFP for the first half of the series; she's got a clear Fi > Ne preference... But then when she develops her Tert in V6 it's just... Te ? And she really doesn't show much Si actually she fits more the Si inf vibe in the form of forgetting about bad memories and her mom until people dig it up and she's like "nooo !" ?? So it looks like Te > Si but also Fi > Ne; conclusion idfk

Weiss • ISTJ 1w2 6w5 3w4 sp/so

Clear Fi tert rearing its head along with the 1 so I'm going with ISTJ; I also never really saw any Ne. Her type isn't too disagreed upon so tell me if you want a lenghtier explanation.

Blake • ISFP 6w5 9w8 4w3 (in some order)

Wooh this might get the anger of some (i have experience with the INFJ typers) but Blake goddamn REEKS of Fi. Less so recently but for the first seasons oh my god. She straights up catch you by the shirt and tells you "I'm doing the right thing"; and said right thing is so heavily dependant on her own subjectives values, which is why Blake can't reconcile with the current White Fang; because she doesn't have a strong Je vision of "what objectively works in the end", she only sees actions in terms of immediate right and wrong, and this b&w dichotomy stems from herself. What the WF is doing is wrong and the circumstances don't matter for judging the morality of their actions (of course I'm not talking about murder here bc that's pretty wrong ALL THE TIME but for example the stealing occuring in V1 bc of the WF is a better example)

Yang • ESXP 7w8 8w7 2w3

I'm sorry about that but I can't help you on that aspect anon, I still can't make up my mind about whether Yang has Fi or Ti. I have seen arguments for both, and i'm not the best at picking up on Ti so it's hard for me to tell.

Jaune • ESFJ 6w7 3w2 9w1

No strong opinions on his MBTI, it's kinda just based on vibes

Nora • ENFP 6w7 9w8 3w2

Textbook ENFP, not much to say here x))

Pyrrha • XXFJ 2w1 1w2 6?

In my list Pyrrha is currently written down as ISFJ but that's mostly based on the general consensus and me wanting to get rid of the XX. I don't actually have any convincing arguments to decide on Ni or Si, so I could go either way if someone else makes their case well. I feel like she's Fe aux more than dom, but even about that I could change my mind. Pyrrha didn't have that much screentime in the end :((

Ren • ISTJ? 9w1 5w4 4w5

Ironically I'm not sure about his type, kind of like you. I've mentionned I'm not very good at picking up on Ti right ? And Ren was a background character before V4 really. I had him written down as ISTP for a while but I've seen some convincing arguments for ISTJ so I might lean toward that actually but who knows. The thing I'm very confident about is his 5 fix = )

➸ Faunus bonus

Sun • ESFP 7w6 2w3 9w1 so/sx

I don't see any Ne at all either so I don't understand the ENFP typings...?? Maybe the 7 stereotypes ? Imo Sun is just a very good boy; certified ESFP 7 himbo; triple positive sunshine !

Ilia • Ti-Fe axis ?

Again, not enough screentime for me to make an educated guess. My only certainty is : not high Fi. It's the source of their conflicts. Blake confidence in absolute right & wrong, tracing lines in the sand between acceptable & unacceptable. Whereas Ilia can only shake her head and say "Because it works", or cry out "I don't know what else to do !"

Adam • 3w4 8w7 6w5

I honestly don't really have much of an opinion about Adam's MBTI, i'm sorry anon ;; I don't know enough about how he thinks

➸ Oz-related things and his circle

Ozpin • INFJ 5w4 2w1 1w9

I would personally call him an INFJ. I... never really got INTP vibes from him ? I don't see the Fe inf work out with his interactions : he's always rather at ease, he knows how to navigate around people... His focus inherently lies on doing what's best for the "group", the people, humanity. Fx functions are both concerned with ethics, in different ways, and I think Oz reflects that well. He IS concerned with the moral weight of his actions, but it's a more adaptable and unpersonnal concern than Fi people. He regards Ironwood's soul machines as something wrong, but can still agree to use it if the situations demand it for example. So... if the INFJ + 5 makes sense to you, well that's what I'm typing him personally. I also feel like Ni fits him more than Ne. Ozpin has a very linear way of planning, he does use his fair share of symbolism in every day conversation... Even when taking decisions, he... kind of cares about the meaning of things a lot ? It's hard to explain but like; the way he highlights the difference between an army and a guardian, and the emotionnal response it brings. I don't know it feels like there's some Ni vibes in there x)

Oscar • ISFJ 9w8 6w7 3w2

Oscar's type honestly isn't the one I would have the easiest time explaining in lenght but yea. It's mostly vibes; also just like Ozpin he doesn't seem to have a particularly Fi reasonning. And he feels more grounded, I don't really remember any Ni so... yay ?

Ironwood • ENFJ 6w5 1w2 3w4 (pre-Vol8); ENTJ (post-Vol8)

Might be weird if you think he was a dictator from the start, but I kind of entertained the idea of Ironwood being Fe dom ? From his very first interaction it was very clear that he was a Je dom to me; he's all about objective results; he doesn't give off the "internal framework" or "personnal values" vibe AT ALL; so it was more a matter of picking Te or Fe. He LOOKS super Te don't get me wrong; but he also has an enneagram tritype that is very common amongst XXTJs (and TJs stereotypes thus derive from it). And just like Oz, his focus at all time seemed to be the greater good and doing what's best for the people still. So I was like... Eh, a "harsh" ENFJ I think that's interesting ? Plus Fe ethics actually derive from their environment, kinda like "everyone agrees that Y is wrong", and if you consider that James is from Atlas... Well his way of thinking and ethics align pretty well with the military.

His character took a turn for the worse in V8 (whether too quick or not depends on who you ask) and past that point he's a clear ENTJ; but I feel like it was more debatable before that. Idk though I might be overthinking this in the hope of making more interesting combinations xD

Qrow • ISTP 4w3 6w7? 1w9? sp/sx

I don't really see anything else than ISTP for Qrow... But he's not a character I would want to find Ti arguments for either.

Raven • ENTJ Cp6w5 8w9 3w4

Most villains get called ENTJ at the first occasions tbh zlqfznhqzkf but I think it fits Raven for the most part actually...

➸ Atlas

Winter • ESTJ 1w9 3w4 6w5

The whole Schnee family has the same enneagram tritype in different order/different wings, it's ridiculous I think she has a higher Te than Weiss, and Fi inf fits her more. She struggles more to reconcile with her emotions and the idea of a personal right/wrong than her little sis.

Penny • ENFP 4w3 6w7 9w1 sx/so

Perfect example of a healthy 4, she's a great friend a cutie pie. ... Sorry we were talking about MBTI x) Well again, textbook ENFP. Not much to debate here.

Whitley • 3w4 1w9 6w5?

Not enough material for me to guess a MBTI type correctly either, sorry... I could see some kind of xNTJ yea but it's really just vibes and not enough concrete.

➸ Antagonists and Extras

Cinder • 8w7 3w4 6w5

Never cared to guess her MBTI type. I hereby type her as insufferable qkfqskfq. More seriously, I don't really know sorry Anon :/

Emerald • 2w3 ?w? ?w?

I never got Fe vibes from her tbh, I just think she's a 2. And Fe as a function is very infused with 2 stereotypes. So yea. Like, she isn't even that worried about the morality of her actions or anything more than the other villains. She just cares more about her personal relationships and being loved, so she automatically looks much nicer, especially with 2 mechanisms of trying to make herself useful and needed. Also because she's surrounded by 8-ish people xD

Mercury • 8w9 7w8 ?w?

ISTP doesn't sound too farfeteched, but I never MBTI-typed him either, sorry.

Bartholomew Oobleck • xSxJ 5w4

The only vibe he gave me is Si somewhere because of all his talks about learning from the past and everything repeats itself and it's a mine of informations at Mountain Glen... That's really the only time I tried to put down anything for him, and it was Si + 5. He could be some kind of xNTP nerd too for sure, but that's more vibe and I couldn't make an actual argument for it.

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whitleyschn33 · 3 years

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Caution: Rambling - most of this probably won't make sense, I just want to rant.

Hehehehehe....

Fuck. Just... fucking hell.

Alright, some pros. I like the Maiden affects on Winter. They looked good, I liked that the particles looked like powdered snow. Winter makes a very regal and kickass maiden maybe she should been from the start instead of resurrecting a character just to recycle shock value and grief idk. Winter also shows Ruby how sister grief should be done. I don't know why RT didn't go this hard for Ruby, they clearly can, but whatever.

Cinder is also the best she's been since V3 - like, I was blown away by how entertaining she was in these last two episodes. Kudos. A bit too late considering what a dead weight she's been for 4.8 volumes, but I'm trying to be positive for this section.

Uhhh... Weiss shooting Blake's gun and using it to support her rapier was cool. Makes me think that a weapon swap training exercise would have been cool so Weiss actually knows how to shoot it. The episode score was nice. There was this one part I remember thinking "oh, I really like that", but I can't remember what it was. I think Atlas falling with Qrow/Ace-Ops onlooking, but I'm not rewatching to find out.

I didn't expect Jaune to fall, so at least they didn't spoil that in the damn opening. Weiss/Jaune/Penny team up would have been cool, and I'm sorry we didn't see more of it. Oh! Weiss actually used her sword as a sword... but the wrong kind of sword.

We might be getting into African folklore/fairy tales/myths - not sure if that's a pro, but I know some people will be happy. The tree in the end credits scene looks like an African species, though I wouldn't swear to it; I'm not a botanist. Honestly, my first thought was Yggdrisal, but the style of the tree makes me doubt it. I'll have to see if there are any significant trees in African fairy tales.

.....

Cons time.

Penny. Why the hell did you resurrect her, do nothing interesting with her despite the multiple set-ups to interesting concepts, and then just murder her? Much like everything else this volume, it didn't need to happen. It was an ultimately pointless diversion before eventually getting back to what was orginally going to happen anyway. It's an attempt to get the same rush of emotion and grief from V3, but it utterly fails to do so because we've been through this already. How many times are we going to see Penny die? And I love Penny... I'm just... not okay with this, and I can't articulate how very well. Expect a lot of posts reblogged that I think say it better than I ever could.

Reactions and voice acting. There are so many points, practically in the first quarter, where I'm like "why is this character doing this/not doing this/pulling this face?" Weiss pushing Ruby away from a fire trap but not bothering to move herself. Weiss's voice acting sounding completely phoned in. Ruby looking almost bored and annoyed by Neo's approach. Still no good reaction to Yang's death from Ruby. Weiss reacted better to Ruby and Blake's death by shooting at Cinder through tears. Hell, Jaune reacted better to Penny's death, he at least screamed. And oh, I cant wait for the gender related takes on that, because they're going to be horrific and I can't decide if I'm going to cringe or laugh - Dimitri vs Edelgard was bad enough. There's just so much weird animation where the characters seem to forget they have lightning fast reflexes or should be emoting a certain way. We've seen Ruby deflect bullets, you're telling me she can't dodge an obvious trap? Also, Ruby using her semblance effectively multiple times this episode is just... really rubbing in how bullshit it is that she didn't even try to catch Yang - AND HER EYES. Use your damn eyes, you could have blown Cinder back at any point, but no, the writers don't want to have to actually be consistent with that so they can have their precious fall. It's not quite as bad as V5's finale, but I'm getting those vibes. Too much standing around, slow movements, characters not utilizing their abilities - I'm just disappointed.

Why is Willow's hand gorilla-flued to Whitley? It's getting creepy now. Stop it. Let him be a character, don't lump him in with Willow as "Weiss's redeemed family".

Everything with Qrow/Ace Ops/Robyn/bomb. Shit plot point put tacked on at the last second, has no impact on the audience since we're not supposed to actually care about the AceOps, and Vine wasn't one we actually got to have any scenes with before his death. Oh, and Robyn's not dead. That's a con, I'm sticking to it. She is the most annoying, infuriating, and pointless character in this history of RWBY, and I want to stab her repeatedly.

Also - not sure if this is a pro or con - I liked Qrow's reaction to realizing, hey, my nieces might be totes dead, but it comes so late, like an after thought, like why weren't you concerned with this before now? Do they even know if people were evacuated?

Where the hell are Pierto and Maria? Dead, I guess, since they just floated away offscreen into the freezing cold, but Qrow Co will probably pick them up next volume. Oh, great, another split volume, 3 ways this time. Qrow and Co, the Vacuo people, and RWBYJ.

Ahhhh, can't they have just killed the bomb crew? Or hell, have the void actually kill. It would be a ballsy, gut punch of a move, something no one would expect since I've seen literally no one (including most of the characters) react like the characters are actually dead. Seeing Winter react to Weiss's death, seeing her grief and resolve as she floats out of the portal - I realized that I want more of that. I would much rather see the side characters take on Vacuo, see how they pick up the pieces - hell, I may actually keep creatively acquiring RWBY just to watch the Vacuo sections. I like Winter, Whitley, Oscar, Ren, and the HH that aren't Robyn - I'll watch a show with them trying to keep together two cities worth of civilian refugees in a place like Vacuo. And hey, Sun and Neptune. I like Sun, and maybe without Blake there, he can connect with the side characters and not be horribly mistreated for the sake of the ship that shall not be named.

There's honestly so much more I could say, but I'm tired and hungry, so I'm just going to leave it there for now. Please don't try and argue with me in the notes about how wrong and stupid I am. This is a vent post, not an invitation to debate. I'm just really disappointed and I'm not sure how to feel about it.

#rwby #rwby8 spoilers #rwde

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misstrashchan · 4 years

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Since @im-the-king-of-the-ocean did a post about what TMA fear entities the RWBY characters are aligned/avatars of, I’ve been itching to do one myself because as a result of overlapping hyper fixations I think about this A LOT

The basic concept is that avatars in TMA become what they fear most or embrace a fear they have developed the most complex relationship with that plays into their motivations and drive as a character. What negative impulses they have to constantly fight themselves on, the shape of the monster that lives in their heart.

To quote the RWBY song Fear, “But our greatest fear will be realised, if we fall and lose ourselves to fear, we’ll become what we’ve feared all our lives” yeah that’s a very loose definition of what becoming an avatar is.

Since MAG s5 has proven that you can be an avatar of more than one fear, (Like Martin serving both the Eye and the Lonely) some of the RWBY characters might have more than one, but I’ll try to limit it to two to avoid getting complicated, but at the end of the day it’s all fear soup, we might categorise them according to Robert Smirke’s 14, but they all bleed into one another, like Gerard’s colour analogy in 111:

GERARD

I always think it helps to imagine them like colours. The edges bleed together, and you can talk about little differences: “oh, that’s indigo, that’s more lilac”, but they’re both purple. I mean, I guess there are technically infinite colours, but you group them together into a few big ones. A lot of it’s kind of arbitrary. I mean, why are navy blue and sky blue both called blue, when pink’s an entirely different colour from red? Y’know? I don’t know, that’s just how it works.

And like colours, some of these powers, they feed into or balance each other. Some really clash, and you just can’t put them together. I mean, you could see them all as just one thing, I guess, but it would be pretty much meaningless, y’know, like… like trying to describe a… shirt by talking about the concept of colour.

O-Of course, with these things it’s not a simple spectrum, y’know, it’s more like –

ARCHIVIST

An infinite amorphous blob of terror bleeding out in every direction at once.

GERARD

Now you’re getting it.

ARCHIVIST

Like colours, but if colours hated me. Got it.

Ruby Rose: The End. The fear of death itself, uncaring and unstoppable. Man this was hard to think about but I have a lot of Big Feelings about this one. Initially I really, really wanted to give Ruby the Eye simply because “can laser beam monsters with their eyeballs once they become powerful enough” and there is a fascinating overlap in how the Beholding powers and Silver Eyes function in the same way, (especially in how Cinder being exposed to the Silver Eyes fills her with an overpowering fear and reopens old wounds from trauma that have never properly healed; which is VERY similar in the psychological affect Jon’s has on his victims when he Beholds them) they’re both direct enemies/opposites to the Dark that expose their enemies/victims true nature and destroying them in the process at times. Only one feeds on fear and the trauma of others while the other feeds off of hope and love (Gerard says there’s no such thing as an avatar of hope and love, clearly he’s never heard of Ruby).

But nope! The fear and nature of the Beholding just doesn’t really match with Ruby at all. She isn’t driven by a need of knowledge, nor does she fear being watched, followed or having her secrets exposed. The End though? Death itself? Ruby outright states that’s her biggest fear in volume 5 to Oscar “It doesn’t matter if you’re standing in Salem’s way or not. She’ll kill anyone. And that, scares me most of all” to me Ruby’s fear of death itself is projected onto Salem here, I think. It’s uncaring, unstoppable, it doesn’t discriminate, and it could come for the people she cares about at any time. What matters though is the context she says this is in explaining her motives to Oscar. Her whole life has been shaped by her inability to process death, her relationship with grief, all starting with the tragic and abrupt death of her mother Summer as a child. She’s also surrounded by a lot of death motif too, the hooded cape, mostly wearing black, the giant grim reaper scythe. She’s the End.

Of course, her being an Avatar of the End means having to imagine the worst version of Ruby, one that is fully consumed by that fear. Avatars of the End are not malicious or destructive in nature but instead are… very apathetic. They don’t need to seek out victims to feed off of, nor do they have a ritual, because the End comes for all. And that fits with what Ruby would be like if that fear fully consumed her. It’s more or less established in vol6 during the apathy arc when she tries so hard to fight against their influence and how horrified she is when everyone around her falls prey to it. Giving up, not caring, accepting the inevitable demise of everyone and yourself? Ruby was terrified of that. And when looking at the vol8 opening where we see Ruby being dragged down by what looks like the arms of the apathy? She fights the hardest against it because it’s what she’s most afraid of, but because of her inability to process her grief properly is ultimately what will make her the most vulnerable to it when she’s pushed to her limit. All Salem needs to do to break Ruby is to remind her of Summer’s death. Not even what actually happened to her or how she died, just the death itself. Hell, the first time we see Ruby in the Red trailer, she’s at her mother’s grave, the first verse in Red like Roses that’s about Ruby “Red like Roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest” in which we come to understand that the “Red like roses” lyrics in both part one and two of the song is referring to Summer’s abrupt death which Ruby apparently dreams about, which brings to mind Oliver Banks, our most prominent Avatar of the End, whose first statement to The Magnus Institute in 011 (underneath the fake alias of “Antonio Blake”) is concerning how he started dreaming about the deaths of others, which he didn’t begin to take seriously- until it was his father that he saw in his dream. Upon which Oliver realised how terrifying death really was and that fear began to consume him.

Okay I’ve probably gone off long enough about this but yeah. Ruby is the End. I mean, she also just got a song in the v7 soundtrack called Until the End

Weiss Schnee: The Lonely. The fear of isolation, of being completely cut off and alone or disconnected from the rest of society. I don’t really have to go too deeply into this one. It’s pretty cut and dry. “The loneliest of all”? And the Schnees basically are the Lukas family. Actually thinking about it the Lukas’ are actually somewhat better? They were the only ones in the whole of TMA that understood to raise a child to be an heir/avatar of their fear they needed room to reject it or actively choose it, even if that had an 80% success rate. Both are still awful though. (Damn, I can’t believe Jaques is an actively worse parent than an eldritch fear avatar)

When Weiss comes back to Atlas in v4 she’s more aware of her loneliness than ever, feels more aware of how she and atlas high society as a whole is disconnected from the rest of the world and its struggles. Whitley commenting on her being in her room for months implies she’s purposefully been isolating herself during this time as well, in order to avoid her family members “A pleasure to see you out of your room for a change” (sidenote; the fact that whenever Whitley shows up it always catches Weiss off guard, like she didn’t even notice his presence until he wanted her too. That’s. That’s a BIG Lonely thing. Given Peter’s siblings eventually ran away and he was the only heir I can imagine Peter being what Whitley would end up like if no one intervenes)

I’d say they might also be an possibility of the Stranger due to her struggling to find her own identity and inability to recognise oneself, but that can be an aspect of the Lonely too, as we see when Martin is in a house that is a domain of the Lonely in s5, and is unable to recognise himself in the mirror or recall who he is.

What I do have to say about this is it’s pretty interesting considering at this point in the show Weiss’ relationship with loneliness is actually somewhat healthy and something she can use to relate to and help others. She understands other people’s loneliness, that Blake in v5 needed space and in time she’d come back, and Weiss would be ready to be there for her when she did. And she also understands Yang’s loneliness in the same volume and that she needed someone there to support her.

“But you’re right. I don’t know loneliness like you do. I have my own version. And I bet Blake has her own version too.”

Speaking of Blake…

Blake Belladonna: The Stranger, I Do Not Know You. The fear that you cannot trust the perception of yourself or of others. The creeping sense that something isn’t right. I considered the Spiral, but the Stranger and the Spiral overlap more than any other two entities so I’m just gonna go with the Stranger. Especially with her semblance being a metaphor for disassociation, a coping mechanism for the abuse and gaslighting from her relationship with Adam being kind of the biggest thing here, since the Stranger and Spiral deal with that a lot. She literally creates false copies of herself, shadow clones which she uses to feint, distract and evade. As well as statues/mannequins when dust is involved, which the Stranger is known for manifesting. Her fighting style centres around misdirection, stealth and fooling people’s senses. She also used to be part of the White Fang, known within Sienna and Adam’s faction to wear the masks of monsters, appearing anonymous. And she literally disguises her identity as a Faunus in order to escape the White Fang and enroll at Beacon. Blake at first was hesitant to trust and rely on the others in the earlier volumes, to let her guard down, and when she finally did, the worst happened and her fears were proven right. In s2 Jonathan becomes more paranoid due to being marked and in close daily proximity to the Stranger (as Not-Sasha), much like how Blake in v2 becomes far more paranoid and less trusting of her team. She also does seek knowledge or answers even at the cost of her wellbeing, which is an Eye thing, but Blake’s desire for knowledge and answers isn’t really consistent or important enough with her character and motives beyond vol2 for me personally to consider her an Avatar of it, but I do think she is Eye aligned.

Yang Xiao Long- The Eye. The Ceaseless Watcher, It Knows You, as well as The Hunt. For the Eye, the first time we see Yang is her trying to find information on her mother, and we see Raven in bird form at the beginning too, as she has followed Yang her whole life, never actually interacting or doing anything for her, just… watching her. We learn in vol2 that her search for answers surrounding her mother has been a part of her entire life, almost overwhelmingly so to the point where in her childhood she and Ruby nearly lost their lives to the Grimm when she decided to journey to a shack in the woods she thought would lead to clues in finding her mother. She is adamant because of that experience to never let her need for the truth and answers control her, but it is a need that is always there. When she finally meets Raven, she’s encouraged to “start questioning everything she knows” which, she does. Questioning and knowledge is a big part of Yang’s character, even now. She’s the one who questions Ozpin the most, as well as Raven herself, and in the recent volumes is the one who challenges and questions Ruby’s leadership the most. There’s also a moment in vol7 of her drawing parallels between herself and Robyn and relating to her when she says “I won’t stop until I find out the truth” Her being the one to take the relic of knowledge is hugely significant in this too, especially given the context that she acquires it right after confronting her mother, getting the answers she’s searched for her whole life, holding an artefact possessing infinite knowledge, and she sinks to her knees and cries because there is no sense of closure, that anything is better because of her knowing who and what her mother is, and that her choosing this path might have cost her ever having a relationship with Raven (which is more Raven’s fault of course, and Yang knows that, but that’s not how she’s feeling at that exact moment).

For the Hunt, this one’s a bit simpler. The thrill seeker aspect to Yang’s character and motives in becoming a huntress and enjoying the chase and fighting in of itself. There’s another element in that as most Avatars of the Hunt start out as monster hunters who then develop the need to hunt and kill monsters, and gradually what qualifies as “monster” starts to blur more and more as they become consumed by the need and thrill of the chase and hunt itself. I bring this up because in vol3 Blake draws parallels between Yang and Adam after she is disqualified for attacking and injuring Mercury, worries with how familiar this all feels and that Yang might turn out the same as him (and just for the record Adam is a full blown Avatar of the Hunt, and the Slaughter too most like)

“I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn’t in an instant, it was gradual. Little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry. At first they were accidents, then it was self-defence. Before long, even I began to think he was right. This is all just… very familiar.” What Blake describes is… kind of similar to Basira’s relationship with Daisy with how Daisy, an Avatar of the Hunt, would justify to Basira and explain away how the violence and murders she committed as being for the greater good.

Also just one more, because I have to

Pyrrha Nikos: WebwebWEBWEB. Hoo boi Pyrrha is the Webbiest of Web Avatars as they come. Her whole character’s themes surrounding destiny, control and agency, feeling like her whole life had been decided for her, the fact she’d been blessed with incredible talents and opportunities meant she was supposed to be a huntress, the fact her talent as a world champion meant she was placed on a pedestal without her realising, becoming separate from the people who placed her there in the first place, that Ozpin and his inner circle tell her she has been chosen as the next Fall Maiden, but the method in which she must become so might result in the loss of her identity, that though they ultimately leave the choice to her do pressure and manipulate her into it. The idea of destiny being a predetermined fate you can’t escape is Pyrrha’s greatest fear, and rejects that idea in that she will not let her life be manipulated but will be the one to take control it instead, which is manifested in her having a semblance that she uses to subtly control and manipulate her surroundings. As Cinder puts it, “People assume she’s fated for victory when really she’s really taken fate into her own hands”.

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real-jaune-isms · 4 years

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RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 3 Review & Rundown

Oh boy oh boy, this sure was a heck of a time wasn’t it? Not quite as panic inducing and chaotic as last week with the Hound playing fetch with Oscar’s body, but I still felt a great deal of dread and unease as things took a turn for the negative. Hopefully I can properly explain how.

We begin on a black screen as Ruby pants and groans in a way that made me worry I had put on the wrong video. But no, she’s just winded from riding the tube up to Atlas, and we see her stagger out to see the rest of the group awaiting her. Nora is being painfully held by the ear for what she did to Weiss last episode, but she defends herself by saying it was the kind of thing you only get to do once in a lifetime so she should be happy about it. Blake is the last one to pop out of the tube, and she seems to have had a real bad time coming up. Hair a mess, a little of balance, out of breath, she has good reason to want to NEVER do this again. May asks Penny for directions through the base, though she calls her “robo-girl” when she does it which isn’t the greatest nickname. Penny does a 3D scan of the base and pulls up a map for reference, or something cool and digital to that effect, its more of a visual thing than something you can explain. She gives a rapid series of perfect directions, much to everyone but Ruby’s wide eyed amazement. Ruby is just smugly impressed that her gal pal can do this sort of cool thing. Penny also takes this chance to assert that she would much prefer being called by her actual name. Ruby gives a smug “heh” that May is getting told off, to which May scoffs. Kdin herself has commented that this was meant to only be indignation at being chided for the nickname, not any annoyance at Penny being insistent on what she is called. Personal identity is something May understands well, and she does call her Penny from that point on. So it’s nothing to go insulting or slandering May over.

May puts up her invisibility bubble, and they head off. We see them standing around in an elevator waiting to reach their floor, a very relatable bit of comedy, before taking a few hesitant steps back as it stops on an early floor and two soldiers get in. These two are outside the bubble so they can’t see our girls, but it’s still a tense situation. They get to their floor and sneak around the soldiers while they’re busy talking about how creepy Salem’s horde waiting in the air is, and Nora plays a little prank by hitting every elevator button on the way out. The soldiers are so confused and annoyed! Reaching a door with a security checkpoint, Penny pops one of her fingertips off to reveal a USB insert that she plugs into the terminal to use Pietro’s credentials without his hand print. Ruby is quite impressed by this cool new tool, as would be expected of the weapons buff. May asks which way to turn, and Penny informs them that next they will need to go directly through the central command room. There are a lot of people crowded together and walking around, and May’s Semblance is not equipped for that kind of navigation. Fortunately, we get an answer in the form of what I’d like to call the Pennydex. She explains, with a fun cartoony visual, that Ruby’s Semblance allows her to do much more than just move fast, she actually breaks down to a molecular level so her mass can be negated and she can move faster. So, as we saw briefly in episode 1 of Volumes 4 and 6 with Nora and Weiss respectively, she can do the same to other people and transport a group since the mass of a whole group wouldn’t matter if they’re all just flying molecules. TLDR: We were misinterpreting Ruby’s Semblance the whole time and she can use it to get them through the crowded room easily. And judging from Ruby’s look of shock and confusion, she’s been misinterpreting her Semblance too. Harriet did say that her power is unlike anything she’s ever seen before back in V7... Blake continues to be the funniest member of the group by pointing out how Penny knew this was possible before Ruby did, and all Ruby can do is remind her (and us) that Penny also figured out Blake’s faunus identity before Ruby had. Not exactly painting yourself in the brightest light if your only rebuttal is further proof you’re not that perceptive...

With the opening of a door we shift scenes to Ironwood explaining himself for being tardy to... whatever it is he’s doing, and blaming it on how busy today has been. Meaning he’s probably killed someone else offscreen. The only thing that pisses me off more than that idea is whom he’s talking to: Watts, working for Ironwood to try and hack Penny under threat of execution from two armed guards. Point all the guns you want, Jimbo, this WILL backfire on you in a tremendous way. As quickly illustrated in a podcast about this episode by an IT professional, it is VERY bad business to hire a malicious hacker who has made no efforts to prove his stance with your security or what he will do with his skills has changed. If you can’t understand the jargon on his screen, he will use your ignorance to stab you in the back and turn this in his favor. But it is at least fortunate for Ironwood that Watts is here, because he points out that Pietro’s credentials are in use within the compound and it’s a little uncertain if the general would have noticed that without someone there checking the system. Naturally, as the paranoid man he is, Ironwood declares a security breach and a code red lockdown, authorization to use lethal force granted. Hey, I said this was fortunate for Ironwood, not for our heroes! The girls are of course panicked and worried, Penny checking the systems to see the tubes have been sealed too so they can’t leave how they came in. May is ready to swipe an airship for them so they can bail immediately, but Penny is resolute that the mission can still be achieved. Nora gets a good idea on how to make this work, and we see May sneak into the control room while cloaked to trip a guy walking by with a cup of coffee. His mug, labeled #1 Dad Dud, flies through the air and the hot coffee spills on a coworker’s computer and lap. This poor guy Bill who just wanted to drink some good bean juice, gets screamed at by another employee while the victim of the spill runs screaming out of the room to change pants. Bill is apparently notorious for not heeding the sign they have pinned up to say no food or drinks in the control room, and while the angry guy lists off his misdemeanors Ruby swoops up the rest of her friends and zooms through the room towards their destination while everyone is occupied with Bill. There’s a theory Bill is actually Velvet’s father Will Scarletina, since according to Before the Dawn he does work in Atlas, but considering the kind of guy Bill seems to be I would kinda hope otherwise. He microwaved salmon, for Christ’s sake! Unforgiveable!

The girls, minus May who went elsewhere to get a ship for their departure, emerge from Ruby’s petal blur safe and sound... except Blake. Penny, Weiss, and Nora have all been carried by Ruby before and are used to it, but this is Blake’s first time traveling Air Rose. So while the others look very proud of a triumphant Ruby, Blake is panicked and trying to steady herself. We next see them walking along an ominous looking bridgeway to a door with an electrified field in front of it. Penny does her USB insert thing to take down the electric barrier and unlock the door, and the others ready themselves to fight whoever might be on the other side. Instead, they find an empty room with several terminal pillars, a couple chairs, and one central interface computer that Penny will be using. After the door closes, Nora notes that the electricity started up again. Penny sits down at the terminal, and after taking a moment to breath and prepare herself notifies Pietro over whatever comms they use that she’s ready to start. It’s cute that she calls him dad, reminds me that yeah they are a family. What’s much less cute is that Pietro then remotely takes control of Penny from all the way at Amity so he can use her to perform the complicated process they need to make the launch plan work. The size of her irises and pupils changes, as does the color of her irises from green to yellow. Makes me very wary of the fact that her eyes were briefly red in the intro... especially since Watts is on the job to try and hack into her. Knowing her being remotely controlled is already possible in how she is programmed is TERRIFYING. Ruby is understandably a bit confused and taken aback by Pietro’s voice coming from Penny. “Penny” starts the complicated task as Ruby watches and probably has no idea what she’s looking at, and we cut over to Nora as she looks around the room. She passes by Weiss and Blake, and Blake is the one to voice her concern for Yang’s group. Makes sense she’s so concerned, she’s an only child worried by the fact that Ruby and Yang butted heads like that. Weiss is a sister so she knows what it’s like for siblings to fight like this, she knows it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other less or are on opposite sides. They just have different ideas about what’s right. Clearly she’s drawing from her own feelings on going against Winter at the end of Volume 7. Nora also tries to reassure Blake by talking about how strong and talented Jaune and Yang are and how much Oscar has grown as a fighter. Blake and Yang both seem impressed and reassured by this appraisal, while we the audience know this is very far from the current truth, since Oscar has been stolen away and Yang was unable to protect him. But what is also noteworthy is that she said nothing about Ren. She notices her own gap in information and tries to offer something but... she has no idea what Ren is right now. She hates feeling like she’s losing him, like she has less and less of an understanding who he is than ever before despite the years they’ve spent together, and she’s unsure if she should blame him or herself for this. This time Blake is the one with sage advice pulled from her own bittersweet experiences. When you’ve been at someone’s side for as long as they have, your identities become intertwined and you can lose track of what is really you vs what is a part of them mixed in. It’s important to keep a firm grip on who you are, to be your own person outside of that other person. Clearly, this is a warning to not make the mistakes she did with Adam, for Nora to not blind herself with obsession and attachment to this partner she trusts so much. They don’t say this flat out, but we can read between the lines. It’s a very nice moment from Blake, but it only worries Nora more. She’s had Ren in her life for so long, she really doesn’t know who she is as an individual. That’s a bit sad to think about, but Weiss tries to look on the bright side and says this can be an opportunity for Nora to do some self discovery and find who Nora Valkyrie truly is on her own. All Nora can think of to define herself though... is the value of her strength and her destructive capability. That’s all people expect of her, and she is finally getting a chance to prove herself beyond that.

Before Blake or Weiss have a chance to reassure her, they hear some promising beeps from the computer and rejoin Ruby and Penny. Pietro explains through Penny that he’s cloned the imprint of Ironwood’s computer signature onto Penny, so when they run the launch sequence for Amity the system will connect to her to get clearance instead of going all the way to this terminal to get it from the General. She finally returns to being herself, and says she’ll be sure to rejoin her friends once the launch is done so she can help finish the evacuations, buuuut Pietro has a different idea. He wants her to stay on the tower with him and Maria, but Penny wants to be here and help her friends who need her. Ruby does her best to be diplomatic about this, but she has to agree with Pietro. If Ironwood was right about the tower being unreachable by Salem’s forces then it will be the safest place for the Winter Maiden powers until Salem is beaten or leaves. So maybe Penny should stay there, at least for now? Weiss agrees, while Blake tries to change the subject and say they should head to the hangar and GTFO. Penny unlocks the door while lamenting how often folks are having to do things they would rather not. Appropriately enough, the Ace Ops are waiting on the other side looking for a fight our girls would probably rather not be having. With all the authority of a neighbor at your door to ask for their vacuum back, Harriet insists they’ll be bringing Penny “home” now. RNBW are quick to draw their weapons in defense, and it becomes a verbal spar instead. Surprisingly, it’s Vine who steps up with the speech to convince Penny. And just like the General, its full of negging and gaslighting to make her think she only thought she’s been doing what’s right but really she needs to do what Ironwood says. That she’s not protecting people unless she’s getting the relic for Ironwood. Which is, of course, bullshit because 60% of the people are in Mantle and the General has expressly stated he wants to abandon them to die in favor of keeping his already well fortified 40% up in Atlas safe. Penny tries to defend herself and her position on things with Mantle, but Hare and Elm have a pretty damn backwards way of remembering the end of Volume 7 because they call Penny ungrateful and blame her for Winter being in critical condition. Let’s try to imagine how that dramatic climax would have gone without Penny being there, hm? Winter wouldn’t have been able to get through the arctic vortex Fria was creating without dying of sheer cold, Cinder would have burned through with rage or spite or just been closer when Fria finally collapsed and died. Penny saved Winter’s life twofold and delayed Cinder long enough for Ruby to come in and make the Fall Maiden panic and leave. Get bent, bootlickers...

Marrow and Harriet try to rapidfire good cop bad cop Penny into backing down and surrendering her access of the vault to them, but Ruby uses actual logic and says boosting Atlas into the sky won’t stop Salem, it will only harm more people and delay the inevitable. Or at least, she tries to but hot tempered Hare yaps at her to shut up or she’ll get arrested just like Qrow. Threatening Ruby is more than Penny is willing to allow, and she takes the clear bait to step out of the server room only for Harriet to close the door behind her and leave the other girls trapped behind solid steel and deadly electric current. Penny uses her Maiden powers and her sword array to put up a good fight, but it’s still 4 vs 1 and their teamwork starts to overwhelm her, especially when Marrow uses his trump card Semblance to immobilize her for Vine to put cuffs on her. Meanwhile Weiss tries to use her Summon Knight to break down the door and even the odds, but the electric field is too much. She and Ruby lament how unfair this is and hope Penny can last a little while, but we are seeing how poorly that goes. Nora decides she has to step up for the clutch play, repeating the only 2 things she thinks she can do. “Be strong, and hit stuff...” So she jabs Magnhild into the power source on one side of the door and starts absorbing all the electricity into her body, screaming like Goku going Super Saiyan 3. And the analogy fits, because lightning runs across her skin in cool jagged bolts of pink and her hair stands on end. With a swing and a scream, she bashes the doors in and knocks the Ace Ops back a bit before they can cuff Penny. But all things must come with a cost, and this blows through all her Aura and she passes out with a momentary glassly look in her eyes. Not only that, the pink faded but the lightning patterns are still on her skin as an extensive set of scars consistent with the Lichtenberg figure observed on people actually struck by lightning. In terms of predictions for future consequences, serious electrocution like this has been documented to result in paralysis to some limbs, brain damage or memory loss, and sometimes even blindness. I worry those last two could be possible, since she was already having a hard time determining who she was without Ren so now she might completely forget who she is altogether, or she might lose her sight completely. I don’t know if RT would dare to do that, but we do have Yang’s arm as an example of their willingness for consequences... Regardless, the heroes are now down a woman but they’re still ready to fight for their friend.

Ironwood bitches and moans about losing the chance for the odds to be stacked in his favor since he can’t win this encounter otherwise, but Watts has a new plan for the Ace Ops. Harriet doesn’t like the new orders, but Marrow is ready and willing to obey. Elm quickly swipes RWB over the edge of the walkway before they can do much to fight back against the already winded Atlesians, and by the time Ruby can scoop up her teammates with her Semblance (thank goodness she learned to do that today), the damage is done. Harriet maneuvers behind Penny and yanks one of her swords out of her back with a heart wrenching pluck of the connecting string. Like pulling off a butterfly’s wing... especially since in this world weapons are supposed to be like an extension of your soul. With the sword yoinked their job is done here and they all bail, though Marrow has a remorseful look back at the teens as if he knows he’s trapped on the wrong side. Guess we know why he agreed to this plan so quickly, it was a grab and go rather than a total takedown of their former friends. Blake is the first to point out how incredibly sus this behavior was, but they don’t have time to fully ruminate on the situation because they’ve also done what they came to do and they need to GTFO. Carrying Nora, they meet May in the hangar where her jaunty greeting is cut short by the sight of the ginger girl’s injuries. They need to get her somewhere safe, so they violently bust out through the doors. While in the open air, Penny says her goodbyes and they reveal the ship can be a convertible so she can fly away. Ruby and Penny share a tender but deep hug, and Ruby promises they’ll see each other soon. I just worry when they do it will be on opposite sides of the battlefield, and this worry is not helped by the final scene. The Ace Ops deliver Penny’s sword to a satisfied Ironwood, though Harriet would have been happier taking all of those meddling kids down. Watts cryptically implies that with a piece of Penny’s tech they can make her join them, and anyone who doesn’t trust him immediately knows by “them” he means Salem. And that’s the worrisome note we end on this week. Will next week be better? With the element of future knowledge/ the curse of this review being a week or so late I can say NOPE.

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calliecat93 · 4 years

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Top 5 Things I Liked About RWBY Volume 7

(Top Dislikes)

Gosh, we are so close to Volume 8 now, and it’s driving me crazy! But we’re not there yet. So let’s continue to remember what Volume 7 delivered upon us. Last time I did the Dislikes post, so now it’s time for the Top 5 Likes post! Which this was so, SO much easier to come up with than the Dislikes list! Like I said there, this volume is so well-written and jam-packed full-on content. It was a rollercoaster of a ride where even though I didn’t want to get back on for a while, that thrill was everlasting. Whether V8 will give the same result will be determined soon, but for now let’s go over the Top 5 Likes of RWBY Volume 7. As always, just my opinion, so take with a grain of salt~

Okay, let’s go!

#5. Oscar Development

By far one of the biggest criticisms against Volume 6 was how it handled Oscar. There was a LOT of good setup concerning his identity crisis as he struggled with keeping control, maintaining his own identity, and the potential burden of just being another of Oz’s wasted lives. While he DID reach a new confidence by the end which was nice, it... was more or less offscreen. To many, myself included, Oscar felt wasted and I specifically criticized how the execution made it feel like depite what Ruby said and what the narrative is trying to say, it DOES feel like Oscar’s viewed as just Oz’s vessel and that’s all his importance amounted to. I was hoping that Volume 7 was going to rectify this like they did with Ruby in Volume 6. Did they do so?

Absolutely yes.

While they still have a bad habit of setting up Oscar in trouble but it turning out to be a fake-out (his disappearance due to Neo), the volume did a LOT to improve his position. With Oz gone, Oscar has to be diplomatic on his own. He’s in a position where he can get close to Ironwood in a way that the others can’t and see him actually vulnerable. Unlike the others, who keep just pointing out to Ironwood how his actions are problematic to varying degrees, Oscar can see what’s really causing it: fear. Which is something that Oscar can relate to. After all, he was terrified when his quest began, but he always faced it and went forward everything to do what was right. Even when it meant leaving home, even when it meant facing unjust anger from others, he did so.

Oscar tries to reason with Ironwood. He tries to have him realize that it’s okay to be afraid. That it’s okay to be honest with those around him. That it’s okay to be vulnerable. Ironwood isn’t the only one either. In the beginning, he’s worried about Ruby’s lie because of how much it reminds him of what Oz did to them. You could argue that he’s developed into the conscious of the group, but he knows how to reason with these matters in a peaceful way. He’s becoming more of a diplomat similar to Ozpin, which even Ironwood points out in Chapter 9.

Then there’s the finale. Sadly, despite all of his pleas and how much he reached out to him, Ironwood ultimately rejected him and Oz. He rejected the route of trust and embraced fear, sealing the deal by shooting Oscar. But while he couldn’t help Ironwood, he did help someone else: Ozpin. His words convinced the former headmaster to at last return and face his own fears, saving them both. It also allowed Oscar to gain more of Oz’s power and memories. The boy has gone form a scared teenager entering a world he doesn’t truly understand, to becoming a courageous young man filled with compassion and hope for those around him. And this time, we got to actually see that growth unfold. He’s still got a long path ahead of him, but this greatly amended Oscar’s character and I am grateful for it.

#4. Penny Polendina

SHE CAME BACK! YAY!!! I MISSED HER SO MUCH!!!

Every since hr death in V3, I fully expected Penny to come back at some point. And indeed, she did! And with her memory intact, thank goodness! While I do wish we got some more exploration in how she felt about dying and such, her role int his volume was so well done I can forgive it. She has more screentime in this volume than Volumes 1-3 combined, and I love it! A cute new design, her struggling between duty and her own wants, trying to understand feelings and finding them to be a beautiful thing, there is SO MUCH going on with her here.

Penny is part of Ironwood’s inner circle, having been assigned as he Protector of Mantle. She takes her job seriously and does her best to protect the citizens. She’s elated to see Ruby and the others again and tries to assist them as much as she can. But as the volume goes, we see how much she struggles between her dedication to Mantle and Ironwood’s orders. It’s especially clear fter she is framed for the massacre during the elections. The poor girl is mortified, everyone viewing her as just another of Ironwood’s robots. Even Ironwood feels this way with his insensitive comment bout her being ‘under his control’ during the Council Meeting. The poor girl just needs a hug.

But this helps set Penny apart from Atlas. Unlike the others, who are following orders, Penny is trying to follow her heart. She tries to encourage Winter to do the same when she snapped at Jaques, even saying that all she did was speak form the heart and has no reason to feel ashamed of it. After Ironwood declares martial law, she is clearly upset and outright says that it’s wrong. She even asks Winter if this bothers her, and isn’t very convinced by her argument about the general taking on the burden. Penny chooses to embrace her feelings, not reject them as Winter, the Ace-Ops, and Ironwood have done.

It ends with Penny comforting Fria as her Maiden powers go out of control. How does she do this? She simply goes up to her and gently asks her if she’s okay. She shows the old woman more compassion and care than she’s probably had in quite a while. As a result, Fria ultimately transfers the Winter Maiden powers ot her. It proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that despite being a robot, Penny is a real girl. Hell, she is by far the most human of the Atlesian characters in this volume. She ultimately feels disheartened by Fria’s death, but still goes with Ruby and the others because that’s the right thing.

Penny’s character arc was a delight. There were so many expectations with her return, and I am so happy with the result! Penny feels so much more three-dimensional now. She still has the sweetness that made us love her before, but she also grew as a character. She embraced her feelings, she made choices for herself after having to abide by Ironwood’s rules for so long, she even managed to get some payback on Cinder for her death. Her good-heart and kindness was rewarded at the end. I do worry for her, especially since Salem’s Whale Grimm is absolutely a Montstro reference, but I’m still so happy with her in this volume~

3. The Atlas/Mantle Conflict

I am... not good at talking about this kind of thing, so I apologize if this seems rambly or all over the place. The big conflict pf the volume was the division between Atlas and Mantle. We knew going in how Atlas was seen as a bastion of civilization, but also full of snobs and an army leader who doesn’t exactly have his priorities straight. We knew that Mantle was the former capital and it was easy to assume that it probably wasn’t in the best state... and HO BOY were we right.

While Atlas looks futuristic and pristine, Mantle is run-down and out-of-date. The former capital and it’s people have not been treated well and worse, Atlas controls everything including their heating system. Ironwood has forced the city to be without essential provisions for Amity, and has therefore left them vulnerable to the Grimm. It’s easy to see why Mantle would resent Ironwood and Atlas as a whole, and why it was easy for Watts and Tyrian to widen the divide. It’s like the Chorus conflict in the Chorus Trilogy in RvB, only we’re there to see the division outright instead of coming in many years later. Our heroes are trying to mend the divide, but it’s so much easier said than done when neither side will budge.

There’s a lot of contrast with the two sides. Ironwood is a seemingly cold man with an authoritarian streak. Robyn is more laid-back, if a little cocky but her heart is very much set on helping Mantle. Both can be very brash and place trust above all else. But they both run their respective groups very differently. Robyn views the Happy Huntresses as her friends, while Ironwood trained the Ace-Ops to be his loyal attack dogs. Robyn is willing to give her trust until it gets broken, while Ironwood is wrapped by his own paranoia. We see how these two groups function. They have similarities, but are also very different especially when it comes to how their leaders treat their respective groups.

There is a HUGE class issue between Atlas and Mantle. It’s not helped by Ironwood’s plans causing further suffering, and of course in the end he chooses to leave it open to Salem in favor of saving Atlas. The fandom has fought back and forth for months over if this was right or not, which only proves the point of the division. You can see where each side is coming from, and we care for the people on each side. The conflict was presented throughout the volume with the heroes trying to help, but they sadly fail. The moment Tyrian’s slaughter happens in Chapter 6, you can break the tension with a butter knife and it doesn’t let up. We’ll probably only see more of it with Volume 8 now that Mantle has no protection. But as far as this volume goes, it was presented very well and very strongly.

#2. The Fall of James Ironwood

Love him or hate him, Ironwood is by far one of the strongest written characters in the show. Ever since his intro in Volume 2, we have been building up to this moment. The man has a LO of flaws. He’s arrogant, brash, favors military might over being discreet, and has a bad tendency to not learn form his missteps. These flaws contributed to the Fall of Beacon. But we also saw a man who was honest, righteous, respected Ozpin, and for all had flaws seemed to have good intentions. He was always willing to put himself on the front lines and took none of Jaques’ elitist shit. Sure he caused the Dust Embargo and closed Atlas down, but he also defended Weiss in Volume 4 and was clearly upset about the Fall fo Beacon. We saw a flawed, but still good man and if he could just embrace his flaws and open his heart, he could have been the great hero that he appeared to be.

Sadly thought, that wasn’t meant to be.

Ironwood is shown to be dishelved and plagued by paranoia, but he HAS created a plan to re-establish communications and expose Salem. But his police state with Mantle has the heroes concerned, so they lie to him about Oz and the lamp. The man continues to make questionable decisions, like I already said about his treatment of Mantle. But he still seems devoted tot he cause and like despite these calls, his intentions are still good and it will pay off even with the bad press. Heck, after Robyn tells him to trust her in Chapter 9 and with a push form Oscar, he seemed to FINALLY be doing the right thing. he revealed the truth about Salem to everyone, he worked alongside Mantle, and he faced Watts in the same place where his greatest failure had occurred. It seemed like all the begging and pleading had worked.

Sadly though, it all fell apart once Ironwood saw the glass chess piece.

Ironwood’s greatest enemy isn’t Salem. It’s not Robyn. It’s not he council. No, it’s himself. He has closed up his emotions and his hear to everyone around him. He has buried himself in his paranoia and his pursuit in defeating Salem. With every mistake, Ironwood failed to learn and move forward. He just became more and more consumed by his own fear. He wanted to be a strong leader. To be like Oz. But like Oz, he ended up losing himself and unlike Oz, he couldn’t acknowledge where he went wrong. In many ways you can sympathize with him because of the bleak situation and him trying to do what he can with what he has. But sadly, none of that can justify the path that he ended up taking.

Ironwood is angry at Team RWBYs lies. This and Salem’s approach pretty much causes him to snap. He’s going to let Fria die so that Winter had the Maiden powers. He's going to abandon Mantle to their demise in a futile plan to raise Atlas into orbit. When RWBY opposes this, he orders them to be arrested. He even coldly confirms that he’s leaving Mantle to die. However one feels about this choice, as a cruel but necessary choice to save what can be saved, or a needless sacrifice made by a fascist dictator, one can at least make an argument about either point that makes it hard to say who was right. Him snapping at Oscar and knowingly shooting the kid to his demise? No. That one cannot be justified at all, especially since he was as cold as steel when he did it.

This moment has been built-up since we met him all those years ago. We wanted Ironwood to do the right thing. We all hoped that he would. But he didn’t, and it isn’t shocking at all. We saw enough to like Ironwood, but to also be very much aware of his faults that he just never seemed able to conquer. His fall form grace is tragic, yet done in such a satisfying way as well. I felt for him, but there was no justifying his actions. I kept hoping that he’d pull through, but once Chapter 11 hit, I knew we were at the point of no return. The James Ironwood we once knew is no more, consumed by his fear. What will happen to him next? Will he manage to realize his wrongs? Or will he continue to fall until there’s nothing left to salvage? It’s hard to say. But for now, the tin man has lost his heart,. A very sad, but very well done, character arc for sure.

1. The Theme of Trust and Fear

When I first heart this volume’s opening, Trust Love, I liked it... but the more the volume went, the more the optimistic song felt out of place for the dark volume. Considering this IS an anime, that’s probably intentional. But the more I examined the lyrics, especially after the full version came out, the more I truly realized how it fits with this volume. The song speaks of one trying to live in their dream world, but they need to face reality and trust those around them. They need to stop waiting for a miracle, they need to take control of their life now and move forward. hey need to... well, trust in love. Then you have the finale song, Fear, which outright asks ‘who will you be when you are faced with fear? Will you see the person you hope to see? Or will you see a stranger?” Will you feel proud? Or will you feel betrayed?

This is the theme of the volume. The theme of trust and the right thing against fear. Ironwood claims to trust the heroes, yet he can’t trust anyone else and his own fear is slowly consuming him. The heroes are mistrustful of Ironwood, but they trust each other and want to help mend the divide between Ironwood and Mantle. But at every turn, fear gets ii n he way. Tyrian’s slaughter makes Mantle afraid and enraged. Ironwood’s fear keeps him from opening up and it leads to his downfall as I already described. The Ace-Ops don’t fight together as a team, which leads to Team RWBY who DO trust each other to defeat them. Clover is blinded by his loyalty to Ironwood to recognize that he’s doing the wrong thing, and it leads to his death. Not to mention the mistrust between him, Qrow, and Robyn lead tot he crash to begin with.

As Oz says in his monologue, fear is the greatest thing that everyone shares. We see everyone afraid. Ironwood is afraid. Ruby is afraid. Ozpin is afraid. Even Cinder is afraid. It’s all for different reasons. Ironwood is afraid of Salem. Ruby is afraid of the uncertainty ahead. Ren is afraid of failing Nora and the others. Cinder is afraid of failing to achieve her foals. Qrow is afraid of bonding with others, especially considering what happened to Clover. Ozpin...d o I even need to elaborate on him? The title to Chapter 13 is ‘The Enemy of Trust’. What is that enemy? Fear. Recently, I’ve been feeling that same fear of trust. Fear of being hurt. Fear of being betrayed. Fear of the unknown. It’s a VERY powerful force, and a tempting one at that.

The message of the volume ultimately si that it’s okay to be afraid. It’s perfectly human to feel that way. You don’t need to get over it. It doesn’t matter if you’re afraid, it’s what you do in the face of it that matters. Will you face it? Will you do what’s right? Will you find it in yourself to trust and love again? Or will you succumb to it? Will you end up repeating your mistakes because of your fear? Will you make the wrong choice? What will that say about the person you are? One way or another, we all will find out the answer to that question. We may not know the answers for a long time, but you ultimately need to try and do what’s right. You can’t let the fear control you. You need to decide who you will be when ti comes, and if in the end you will be happy with who you are left with.

Ironwood chose to repeat his mistakes, and is now a heartless tin soldier. Ozpin ultimately chose to return and face it and while only time will determine how that goes, it’s a step in the right direction. People like Ruby and Oscar still tried to do what thy knew was right. Weiss was afraid of her father, but faced him to gain her freedom. Blake feared Adam and the White Fang and chose to run, but eventually decided to fight back and ultimately won. Yang was afraid after losing her arm and of being abandoned, and while she struggled she ultimately faced it, proving herself stronger than her cowardly mother. Even after Ruby broke down when it became clear that Salem killed her mother, she still faced the wicked witch, told her off to her face, and pulled herself together enough to warn everyone about Ironwood and stand her ground. And there’s so any other examples that I could list.

I think considering the times right now, this message is incredibly important. It’s been a major part of the series since the start, but Volume 7 especially made it prominent. We need to trust in love. We need to be courageous enough to do the right thing. We need to be able to express our fear and doubts with others to become better. In a world where everything 9si uncertain and everyone is on edge, I think that the themes here are more relevant than ever, and was handled very well. Especially with that monologue in Chapter 13. As such, this is my favorite part of RWBY Volume 7 without a doubt.

Well, that’s it folks! It was nice to revisit Volume 7 again after so long~ But as we close the book, we’re about to open another for Volume Eight. What’s gonna happen? I don’t know. Am I scared? Oh big time. But I’ve come this far, I’m not backing out until the very end. So I hope that you all enjoy Volume 8, and as always I look forward to reviewing it all~ See you all on premiere day~!

#rwby #rwby reviews #rwby musings #callie reviews #top likes/dislikes

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lgbtqiahistoricalromance · 5 years

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LGBTQIA+ Historical Romance Novels for Winter, Hanukkah, Solstice, and Christmas 2019 - Updated Dec 17th!

 A Very Surrey SFS Christmas by Nicola Davidson (m/f, m/m, f/f, bisexual, and poly)

- Welcome to the Surrey Sexual Freedom Society - where unconventional and uninhibited ladies and gentlemen discuss all matters erotic…

 It’s Christmastide in Surrey, and the Society members have gathered at Lady Portia and Denham’s estate to host a magnificent masked ball. Alas, not everything is going quite to plan, as a curmudgeonly duke, England’s naughtiest cat, a viscount with writer’s block, two newborns, and some colorful local residents conspire to turn order into chaos. But with those you love all things are possible, and it wouldn’t be A Very Surrey SFS Christmas without madcap mischief, banter, and a whole lot of wicked fun…

This series of extended epilogues include Beatrice and Amelia, Madeline and Ethan, Clayton, Susanna, and Joseph, Lady Portia and Denham, and Fairfield. Please note this book contains explicit language and sexual content.

Peter Cratchit’s Christmas by Drew Marvin Fraye

- Peter Cratchit, a young lad preparing to make his way in the world, is the eldest son of Scrooge’s lowly clerk Bob Cratchit. Peter flourishes under the tutelage of his “Uncle” Scrooge and seeks to make his mark as a man of business, like his uncle before him.

One Christmas Eve, as Scrooge lays dying, Peter embarks on a risky ocean voyage that he believes will secure the future for his family. Onboard, Peter finds love, happiness, and success, only to lose it all by the voyage’s end. Returning to London, Peter shuns his family and instead finds himself living on the streets, haunted by his failures and his dead lover, selling his body just to survive while he waits for the winter cold to claim him once and for all.

But winter snows also mean Christmas is coming, and for the Cratchit family, Christmas is a time of miracles. Can a visit from three familiar spirits change Peter’s life again? Is there one more miracle in store for the lost son of one of Dickens’ most enduring families?

Yuletide Treasure by Eliot Grayson

- There’s not enough Yuletide spirit in the world to fix this holiday disaster…

Eben Sypeman’s world is falling apart. It’s two days before Yule and his business partner is dead, leaving behind empty accounts and looming bankruptcy. And if that isn’t bad enough, his patron goddess is irritated with him. It seems she’s tired of his tendency to mince words and avoid conflict. She’s insisting—quite forcefully—that he start being totally honest with everyone, including himself. Divinely enforced honesty couldn’t have come at a less opportune time, especially when his clerk’s tall, dark and distractingly handsome son enters the picture.

The last thing on Tim Pratchett’s mind is romance. All the former soldier wants is to fill in for his sick father at work and recover from his war wounds in peace. But there’s something about the grumpy Eben that confounds and entices him in equal measure. Their timing couldn’t be worse. They’re complete opposites. And yet … none of that matters when he’s with Eben.

But if Eben and Tim have any hope of finding their very own happily ever after, they’ll have to survive a dickens of a truth curse and the machinations of a trickster goddess—all while searching for enough yuletide treasure to save them all.

A joyous, relaxing Yule indeed. Bah, humbug.

This is an M/M romance with explicit scenes, a voyeuristic pagan goddess, and an odious nephew. Despite any other possible similarities to A Christmas Carol, there are neither ghosts nor geese, but readers can expect a happy ending and at least one use of the word “dickens.”

The Stonecutter Earl’s First Christmas by Adella Harris

- Nathan Fitzroy hates the holidays. Estranged from his family for refusing to marry, he’s still expected to keep up appearances, which means attending their holiday celebrations. And that means that, from the beginning of December until the middle of January, he needs to find work that will let him take off almost as many days as he works there. For him, that means working at a molly house called the Goat’s Horn.

Owen Landon was quite content to be a stone cutter. It was what he’d trained for, and it earned him enough money to pay his brother’s school fees and still live comfortably enough in a cottage in their village. He’d always been told his father was distantly related to nobility, but he’d never thought much of it, until a solicitor came to tell him he was the new Earl of Morebrook, a position he has no idea how to fill.

One night in December, when Owen can’t stand his new role another moment, he sneaks away to the seediest molly house he can find, the Goat’s Horn, for a distraction. And find one he does, a beautiful fellow with just the accent and bearing he’s supposed to be learning. When he sees the man again away from the molly house, he comes up with a plan to both spend more time with him and learn to be an earl. Owen offers him a position tutoring him before the start of the Christmas parties he’s supposed to attend.

Nathan’s worst nightmare comes true when one of the clients of the Goat’s Horn recognizes him outside of the molly house. But the man offers him a position that will allow him to earn money away from the Goat’s Horn until Christmas. If only he can remember he’s supposed to be tutoring the fellow, not bedding him, and certainly not falling in love with him. A steamy Christmas romance with hints of Pygmalion.

Approx. 50,000 words, 200 pages

Tinsel and Spruce Needles holiday series by Elna Holst (f/f and f/non binary MCs, MCs with disabilities !!!!!)

Candlelight Kisses

- Malmö, Sweden, 1994 Erika Stolt is a feminist activist, and not one of the slick, lipstick lesbian variety. She’s the kind who trashes beauty contests, who graffitis her own subversive messages over commercial billboards, and who fucks people mainly as a political statement. But then a community service sentence lands her a spot as the unlikely new assistant of one of the candidates for the Malmö Lucia contest, and the world as she knows it is promptly turned on its head.

Little X

- Malmö, Sweden, 1996 Sofie Andersson is a dyslectic born under the star sign Aries, who drives the local buses for a living. Her hobbies include knitting terrible hats and intermittent lesbianism. This December she is on the point of moving into her first flat of her own, figuring out her place in the world, when an instant attraction to a handsome stranger leads her to question everything she’s taken for granted.

Wild Bells

- Lund, Sweden, 1998 Mia Andersson is not a nice person. She is a sharp, sensational-looking, aloof lawyer-to-be, and the busiest sapphic player in town. Mia Andersson takes no prisoners, tells no tales, and if you gave her your number, chances are she won’t call. But this holiday season, at age twenty-seven, wheels that are out of her control have been set in motion, and it looks like she might just get caught in the spin.

February and December: Dominus Calendar Series I (Volume 1) by JP Kenwood

- As a lifelong passion continues to fade, another love deepens… two stand-alone m/m stories of love, lust, and friendship in ancient Rome featuring characters from JP Kenwood's Dominus series. February: Home from the first war against the kingdom of Dacia, Gaius Fabius ignores his obligations in Rome and returns to his secluded seaside villa in southern Italy. Under the pretense of a holiday trip, his best friend and secret lover, Lucius Petronius, surprises him with an unexpected visit. Later that evening, the lusty masters share the delights of Gaius’s blond pleasure slave, Nicomedes. December: With whispers of an embezzlement scandal floating through the capital, Lucius Petronius and his beloved concubine, Bryaxis, celebrate the raucous winter solstice festival of the Saturnalia with Luc’s family. After a joy-filled evening of food, gifts, and stories, Lucius and Bryaxis reverse roles in the master chamber. Warnings for explicit language, filthy loving, and daft shenanigans.

Christmas for a Vampire by Ruby Moone - Because even Vampires deserve a second chance.

Companion story to The Christmas Curse.

Recently turned vampire Ellis Davenport faces another dismal Christmas. His new life is filled with riches but is cold, lonely, and empty. Refusing to acknowledge his vampire self or to participate in any kind of vampire society, he skirts the edges of that world and has done so since the man he loved chose death rather than spend eternity with him. As far as Ellis is concerned, Quinn Fordham died on the battlefield in Badajoz. But, as he circulates at yet another tedious Christmas party, he hears piano music, someone playing the Moonlight Sonata like Quinn used to play for him. Entranced, he finds his lover but just as their lips touch, Quinn disappears. Before Ellis has time to resolve this odd hallucination, he and his friend Trent sense the approach of Lord Heath, their vampire sire. Yet, before their sire arrives, Ellis is stunned to find Quinn not only alive, but a vampire, and furiously angry with him. Can they move beyond the lie that separated them and find each other again?

Dances Long Forgotten by Ruby Moone - Coming December 19th! Per Ruby: Ghosts of past romance Second chance love Gentlemen dancing with gentlemen Long buried family secrets

On Christmas Eve, Dylan, the man of James Pell-Charnley’s dreams, is on the point of walking out. Then they hear the faint strains of a waltz in the library of the empty abbey. The music is said to be heard only by those truly in love, and it gives James the courage to tell Dylan the story.

In December 1841, Lord Hugo Pell-Charnley is in a terrible mess. The youngest son of the late Marquis, youngest brother of the incumbent, never felt to fit. When his life comes crashing down, and his life and his family are threatened, he is forced to face his elder brother and confess his deepest secret. When he arrives at Winsford Abbey he finds he must also confront the shame from his past in the form of Lyndon Cross. The boy he’d loved but betrayed in school. As they clear the ghosts from the past, they dance in each other’s arms in the library to the soft strains of the waltz, but long buried secrets threaten to destroy their happiness.

Two hundred years later, can those dances long forgotten give James and Dylan the courage to hold on to love?

Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian

- A jaded spy and a shell shocked country doctor team up to solve a murder in postwar England.

James Sommers returned from the war with his nerves in tatters. All he wants is to retreat to the quiet village of his childhood and enjoy the boring, predictable life of a country doctor. The last thing in the world he needs is a handsome stranger who seems to be mixed up with the first violent death the village has seen in years. It certainly doesn’t help that this stranger is the first person James has wanted to touch since before the war.

The war may be over for the rest of the world, but Leo Page is still busy doing the dirty work for one of the more disreputable branches of the intelligence service. When his boss orders him to cover up a murder, Leo isn’t expecting to be sent to a sleepy village. After a week of helping old ladies wind balls of yarn and flirting with a handsome doctor, Leo is in danger of forgetting what he really is and why he’s there. He’s in danger of feeling things he has no business feeling. A person who burns his identity after every job can’t set down roots. As he starts to untangle the mess of secrets and lies that lurk behind the lace curtains of even the most peaceful-seeming of villages, Leo realizes that the truths he’s about to uncover will affect his future and those of the man he’s growing to care about.

If anything else becomes available, this list will be updated, and the date listed at the top–after the post title.

A Christmas Cotillion by Ellie Thomas

- England, 1820. Bachelor Jonathan Cavendish has become reclusive in the years following a failed romance with the love of his life. In the years following their split, he has thrown all his energy into restoring the small estate he inherited from a great uncle and has put aside any thoughts of romance. Although he’d rather remain at home alone for the festive season, this year he’s accompanying his cousin Freddy to a Christmas country house party. Freddie seems to be constantly falling in love and, on this occasion, he is infatuated with a young lady called Belinda. Jonathan is asked by Freddy’s anxious mother to accompany him to the house party to keep an eye on the situation, in case the young lady turns out to be an unsuitable choice. Despite this inauspicious beginning, Jonathan catches the eye of Nick, the handsome son of a local well-to-do farmer, who is a constant presence at the holiday entertainments. Nick is intrigued by Jonathan’s kindness and also by the sadness he hides from public view. The initial attraction between the men seems to be mutual, but can Nick break through Jonathan’s defences and teach him to love again?

2018′s More Extensive List

#mlm #flf #historical romance #lgbt books #mcs with disabilities #non binary romance

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itsclydebitches · 5 years

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RWBY Recaps: “Worst Case Scenario”

Happy Saturday, everyone! I’m so torn on this episode. On the one hand it managed to do a lot of the things I’ve been looking for this volume. On the other hand they’re a bit... shaky. And at least a month too late. But we’ll dive into all that in a bit.

We open on Penny in an Atlas facility which was actually a relief for me. Though I wouldn’t expect it for Penny’s characterization, last week’s order to head immediately back to the Academy alongside her blasting off without saying a word to anyone could have implied that Penny ran off. We could have started the episode with her missing, needing that space, but compounding how guilty she looks in the process. So emotionally I’m glad Penny didn’t unintentionally make her situation worse, yet in all honesty her situation isn’t nearly as bad as “A Night Off” implied it would be. We learn within a few minutes that Atlas techs had no difficulty discovering that the video was doctored, even if the general population isn’t convinced of that yet. Ironwood believes her. So do the Ace Ops and all of RWBYJNR. Robyn wasn’t out to seek revenge on Penny or anything, she just redoubled her efforts to help Mantle as a whole. The only thing that stunt seems to have achieved---besides general stress/division which, frankly, an attack without any framing would have created just as well---is the call to deactivate Penny. But as we just established, no one in power is inclined to do that. No one, from Ironwood to Winter to Pietro, is swayed by this “Penny is a danger” rhetoric. And what’s the public going to do? Storm Atlas and deactivate her themselves? For all the emotion Pietro shows, it doesn’t feel like Penny herself is in any danger, only her reputation. Nor does it feel like the villains’ plan has succeeded in hurting the heroes’ plans. The conflict of today’s episode regarding whether Ironwood continues to pull from Mantle to finish the Amity project existed before Penny’s framing. That just added some tangentially related drama. Feels like a missed opportunity for the villains’ well-executed frame job to, you know, actually achieve something.

I’m getting ahead of myself though. In an effort to prevent any more killings Ironwood cracks down on security, announcing that there are to be no public gatherings of any kind and that everyone must obey the curfew. It’s another case of “You can’t treat people like this” up against “I’m trying to keep people from dying via serial killer.” Obviously not everyone is obeying these new laws. Alongside a few civilians braving the authorities, Robyn and her Happy Huntresses are out stealing the supply trucks meant for Amity and re-distributing those supplies to the people. As a lovely anon pointed out (I’m so far behind on asks I’ll work on that!) how is sucking an entire truck and all its contents into your hand not magic? It’s just another example in a long list of world building details that RWBY hasn’t bothered to think through because they never established rules for their fantasy universe. Hell, at this point semblances are far more powerful and mind-bending than the actual magic we see Ozpin and the Maidens performing. What’s a bit of fire and lighting up against, “I can pull a ton of metal and supplies directly into my skin”?

With another truck in their possession we return to the group in Ironwood’s office. He title drops with how this is the worst case scenario: more people are dead, Penny is framed, and Jacques is somehow sitting on the council. Of course, any long-time RWBY viewer knows that this probably isn’t the worst case scenario. Things will no doubt get so much worse. Clover summarizes by saying that Robyn has moved from “hometown hero to full on vigilante” and then we enter the portion of the episode that made me want to beat my head against a wall.

Here’s the lowdown. The Amity project is permanently stalled because Robyn is taking all the supplies needed to finish it. They’re having trouble stopping her because those Happy Huntresses have one hell of a collection of semblances. A possible solution to this problem would be to declare martial law, further increasing the presence of the military in Mantle and thus, hopefully, stopping her. This would, however, further divide the people of Mantle from Ironwood. So what to do? Decisions, decisions.

The reason why this conflict isn’t a compelling investment for the viewer is because it still hinges on knowledge that Ironwood doesn’t have. As Yang herself will later say, “Do you think we should have told Ironwood about Salem? Before he put so much on the line for Amity?” Every choice he makes is done under the impression that he can defeat Salem and therefore these sacrifices are worth it. Amity Arena is top priority because once we unite the world against her she won’t stand a chance. Losing some defenses in Mantle? Incurring the peoples’ hatred? Declaring martial law? Even risking lives via grimm? All of it is worth it because in the end he’ll have rid the world of a woman who has, single-handedly, changed entire kingdoms for the worse. Remember that Mantle only looks like it does now because Ironwood witnessed firsthand how Salem wormed her way into Beacon and burned it to the ground. From destroying entire schools to killing people at parties, she is the world’s biggest threat. It makes perfect sense to me that he would be willing to go to these lengths in order to stop her. We can debate, as Oscar does, when he’ll have gone too far or if he already has, but that logic remains sound. You’re worried about peoples’ immediate needs? I’m worried about the day when Salem breaks into this kingdom and straight up slaughters them all. It’s inevitable. So Ironwood says yes, we need to make things worse now so that they can be better later. We need to make sacrifices.

Too bad he doesn’t know that it’s all for naught.

Which brings me to the group’s reactions. I mean... holy shit. First off, when Ironwood announces that Amity is on hold Ruby gets super upset. “But we’re so close! There must be some way we can finish the tower.” Ruby, why are you pushing for this to be a priority? You know that Salem can’t be killed! You know that telling the world about her will achieve nothing but panic! People aren’t going to unite against an immortal grimm queen. They’re going to do precisely what you all did before the story decided to gloss over or outright ignore your motivations for fighting an “impossible” fight: They’ll give up. They’ll fall into despair. They’ll make like Qrow and decide that nothing has meaning anymore. Why would it when there’s an immortal antagonist hell bent on our destruction? Ruby’s ‘But we have to finish the tower :o’ reaction makes no sense. Going along with this project because she’s comfy cozy being an Atlas huntress makes sense. Hypocritical, but still. Ruby pushing for the project when it’s doing even more harm, when she knows its primary use is pointless? Prioritizing it over those immediate needs? Like... what? This should have been the moment where Ruby came clean. Or at least kept quiet and looked guilty some more. “Yeah, Ironwood... now that this project is unambiguously hurting the people... you should probably know that it’s kinda... not gonna work...”

Then there’s Nora. Remember how I said I wanted her status as a poor orphan to clash with the privilege and authority around her? Yeah, would have been great if there was at least a little build-up to that. Or if another character acknowledged why she, out of the whole cast, is literally screaming at Ironwood over his choices. I mean sure, like with Oscar not showing up to fight the geist there’s an obvious answer here---Nora was once one of the people in Mantle. Not literally, but in all the ways that matter. Or, if you believe some theories, yes literally if she was originally born here---but it would be nice if the show actually established some of these connections rather than banking on the viewer not only picking up on them, but assuming that the writing indeed meant to create that link. These moments of personal growth are too important to drop in with so little lead in. We see Nora comment on the state of Mantle when they arrive and from there it’s just her steadily challenging Ironwood more and more. No acknowledgment as to why that’s such a sensitive topic for an otherwise bubbly girl and no deconstruction of these feelings after she shows them. I’ve mentioned before that Ironwood is crazy calm while having a bunch of teens challenge him like this. Same here. The level of fury Nora demonstrates is staggering given how, from a ‘What have we seen on screen?’ standpoint, it came out of nowhere.

The best part though is when Clover points out that telling the city there’s a serial killer on the lose could make things even worse. Suddenly the situation wouldn’t be, “Ironwood’s robot inexplicably attacked once but is now safely in custody” but rather, “The killer is still out there, wants to kill more, and is fully capable of doing so.” Cue more panic. Cue more grimm. Considering that this is primarily Nora’s concern, the fact that Mantle is vulnerable to grimm attacks through a combination of resources going to Amity and their general despondence drawing the monsters in, this point should be very relevant to her right now. Oh yeah, maybe we don’t want to freak people out even more because then more people die. The people I am currently trying to defend.

Instead she throws up her hands and exclaims, “I am so sick of secrets! If we just told everyone about Amity, about Salem---!” Then she’s cut off by Ironwood.

Nora. I love you. I really, really do. But:

This is my holiday card this year lol. A stranger and a random dog I found on PicsArt spouting my feelings. Happy Holidays. Needless to say, we’re more than halfway through the volume and I’m so over this high horse the group is riding. Nora’s stance would be a compelling one if she weren’t demanding from Ironwood the very thing she and her friends are unwilling to do.

Although, that little slip says a lot about precisely how far the group is taking the ‘no one is allowed to keep secrets but us’ stance. Tell Mantle about Salem? Really? They know that won’t accomplish anything in the vein of uniting them against her like Ironwood intends. Not if killing her is their final goal. Nora seems to want to tell them because secret keeping is just a Bad Thing and Ironwood is a Bad Man for keeping information from his people. Forget the consequences of telling them and, again, forget Nora’s own hypocrisy. It’s really amazing how far the writing is taking this assumption that anyone who keeps secrets from anyone else is automatically in the wrong unless you’re RWBYJNR.

Bleh. We’ve gotta move on. Too much else to cover and what more is there to say? The writing is an absolute mess.

Prior to Nora’s outburst we learn more about Tyrian. Tyrian Callows, as his file reveals. For those of you who weren’t inclined to read that teeny tiny print, my tired eyes are here to help. Winter gives a basic summary of Tyrian’s record and subsequent arrest/escape, but the scroll provides more details. After a series of murders he was detained and set to move from Mistral to Atlas. The man in charge, Pickerel, wanted additional forces for this move, clearly expecting that Tyrian would try to escape. He was denied this and eventually kicked off the mission for not cooperating. During Tyrian’s transport the airship was attacked by a swarm of grimm, despite the fact that the area they were passing through was considered relatively safe. Tyrian continues to speak throughout the ship’s transmission despite severe injuries from the crash. He was heard saying, “What are you? What are you?” sobbing and eventually ending with “Beautiful.” (Edit: My mistake. Cornetto is the one who asks, “What are you?”). At the time Atlas officials assumed he had been killed by grimm, despite the fact that no bodies were found. There’s a note revising this to say he was suspected to have escaped after Pickerel was found dead in his house.

Obviously, Tyrian met Salem that day.

So Winter and the Ace Ops aren’t pleased to hear that this notorious serial killer is in their city and working for their greatest enemy, but at least they all believe Ruby about what she saw. Ironwood eventually shuts the whole conversation down, announcing that they need to put their efforts towards stopping Robyn and Tyrian. Winter and Clover give the expected, “Yes, sir!” in regards to this order. So does Ren. Like I said last week, ignoring all his concerns and trying to fix things with a kiss is not something that works. Glad to see Ren’s new work ethic and devotion to the fight didn’t magically disappear because Nora decided to make a move.

We transfer to Yang and Blake where they FINALLY bring up Adam. Hallelujah! It’s too little too late, but as I’ve said before, better late than never. Granted, it’s not much of a conversation. Yang insists they did what they had to do. Blake says she never wants to be in another position where she’s forced to kill someone. Understandable perspective, but not really the sort of thing you can control when plenty of others are out to kill you. Unless Blake swears to never kill again and upholds that ideal over the inevitable danger to herself and others, that’s just not something she’s going to be able to avoid.

Still very glad it exists, but considering that their talk didn’t actually delve into much regarding that trauma I’m more interested in the things they have to say about the continued secret keeping. This is where Yang once again questions whether they should tell Ironwood and finds that Blake doesn’t agree. Why is this significant? Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone disagree with Yang and get out of it without a glare at best, violence at worst. Yang herself points out that Blake doesn’t seem to be on board with her perspective and is so very gentle about it. It’s clear Yang in no way blames Blake for this difference between them. She legitimately wants to understand her position. Once again, I’m torn. On the one hand Yang should absolutely be commended for the mature way she handled this conversation. On the other hand... it’s Blake. We’ve already seen time and time again that Blake is the exception to Yang’s every rule. I wasn’t joking when I said back in Volume 6 that I primarily like Yang as a character when she’s interacting with Blake because it’s only when she’s with Blake (and to a lesser extent Ruby) that we see this calm, rational, sympathetic version of Yang. Though it is, as said, great that she can approach a difference between them in a healthy and level-headed manner, I’d also like to see her manage the same with someone other than the woman she’s clearly in love with. I’ll believe that Yang has undergone actual growth when she can demonstrate this kind of maturity with someone she’s not already eager to impress and desperate not to create a rift with.

In addition, we get to watch Yang explain how Ironwood “didn’t have many good options” and Blake responds with, “I’m not sure there are many good options left for any of us anymore.” Yet somehow, astoundingly, neither of them manages to apply this perspective to Ozpin. The cast is literally repeating all the arguments I’ve made in Ozpin’s defense---trusting people is dangerous, secrets are hard to part with, you’re not a bad person if you only have shit options to choose from and have to choose something---yet no one actually acknowledges the one character this most applies to.

It’s after all this talk of secret keeping that Blake and Yang decide that they don’t have to follow Ironwood’s orders. Which... is a problem. Because yes actually, they do. Remember how they’re official huntsmen now? Remember how this is a job that comes with rules, regulations, and adhering to the orders you’re given? I’m not saying they’re morally in the wrong here. We can likewise debate the significance of Robyn having this information, whether she’s trustworthy, etc. Rather, I’m merely pointing out that by taking on this job the group agreed to follow Ironwood and obey his instructions. They’ve now broken that promise. It likewise raises the question of whether they’ll tell everyone about this. Based on Blake’s “We’ll distract [the Ace Ops]” it doesn’t sound like they’re going to walk into Ironwood’s office an hour later and admit that they made their own choice based on their own moral code, giving him the chance to dismiss them. I don’t want people working for me who I can’t trust to follow my orders and all that. Which would mean, you know, that they’re keeping another secret. That cycle of hypocrisy will continue, now in the form of Yang and Blake patting themselves on the back for not hiding information from Robyn while likewise hiding new information from Ironwood. So I’m interested to see how and if they’ll admit to this decision, one they made without Ironwood’s or the rest of the team’s input.

Of course, Blake and Yang only get half a pat on the back here. It’s not like they actually came clean in regards to Salem, the primary secret hanging over everyone’s heads. They are, again, acting precisely like Ozpin: doling out little bits and pieces of information as they see fit. I thought for a moment that they truly intended to tell Robyn everything but would be interrupted before they could. Instead Yang says straight out that they’re refusing to come clean about it all and Robyn swears that she “won’t stop until I learn the whole truth.” So congratulations, you further solidified the parallel between you and the man you’re still ignoring, made a pretty huge decision without the input of your partners or boss, and will potentially hide that information in an ever growing list of secrets. If that’s the case that will bring Yang’s total to five: my mom is the Spring Maiden, Salem can’t be killed, the relic attracts grimm, we’re the reason Ozpin is missing, and Robyn now knows about your project thanks to us.

During this whole conversation Robyn reveals that she has the lie detector semblance rather than Ironwood and... Really? I brought up before how many problems that inevitably causes. Case and point: if Robyn can just clasp someone’s hand and tell if they’re lying, why not do that with Ironwood weeks or months ago? Prior to Tyrian’s attack it was abundantly clear that Robyn would prefer to work with Ironwood but isn’t sure she can trust that he has the people’s best interests at heart; Ironwood likewise would prefer to work with Robyn but isn’t sure he can trust her period. Ironwood literally told the group last episode that the fact that they’re not already working together isn’t fully his fault (like the group wants to insist). Working together requires both parties being willing to come together... and here’s a super easy solution on Robyn’s end of things. Not sure about Ironwood’s motives? Shake his hand, ask him to make a statement about it, and find out! For me, the reveal of this semblance just puts more responsibility on Robyn’s shoulders than Ironwood’s. She could have taken more steps towards reconciliation, confident in her unique ability to confirm information. Ironwood? He’s working on pure faith in people which, as the last two volumes have shown, isn’t much to work with at all.

I don’t even want to get into the issues with this semblance moving forward. Unless Robyn because a full-blown enemy or is killed in the finale, every times someone is worried about lying I’m going to ask, “Why not just get Robyn?” It’s too easy a solution, one that writers are inclined to ignore when they don’t want a quick answer, and that disconnect rankles.

We segue to Pietro’s lab and hark! A Maria! She’s apparently been helping Pietro out with all the Amity Tower stuff lately, much appreciated work considering he would have collapsed under the workload otherwise. How kind. A perfectly logical use of her time. Now why couldn’t you have told us that five episodes ago?

Tiny edits, Rooster Teeth. Simple revisions. RWBY continues to read like a first draft. Plenty of potential, but there’s so much missing or disorganized that the viewer is left frustrated because we can see so clearly what it could have been... but we didn’t get that. A pity.

With Maria’s existence re-confirmed we dive into a number of revelations. Most notably that Pietro didn’t succeed in creating an artificial aura for Penny, he merely found a way to share a part of his with her. That’s why he’s so ill and the more times Penny needs to be rebuilt, the more aura he has to give up to revive her. The assumption? There will come a final time, likely at the end of the volume, when Penny will need a recharge and Pietro will die. It’s a setup I’m actually thrilled about if we ignore the obligatory grief over losing a good side character. That reveal was a surprise for most viewers, yet is something that still makes sense based on what we previously knew (a lot of “twists” end up retconning past info) and would lead to a very satisfying ending. Pietro, already an old man, passes on knowing he’s given his daughter the best life he can. All this coughing and death flags reach a conclusion by the end of the volume. Penny is saved but from here on out everyone knows she’s mortal. It adds weight to every fight she’s in and removes the probability that she’ll indefinitely live out everyone she’s ever loved. She might have a longer lifespan than most if she keeps herself safe, but she’s not immortal. All around? One of the best things Rooster Teeth has introduced in ages.

We also see Weiss closing in on Jacques’ involvement in the attack. Only a few people have access to Mantle’s security, one of which is directly connected to the Schnee Dust Company...

Finally, god bless, our favorite farm boy gets a scene. An actual, full-fledged scene in which he speaks multiple times.

I could cry. It might be the only significant scene we get with Oscar this Volume, but it’s far more than we’ve had in an age. Hell to the yes.

Basically, Ironwood shows off the Staff of Creation’s vault and admits that this is what is keeping Atlas afloat, not gravity dust as everyone else assumes. Which is a revelation not nearly as well done as Penny’s. Floating? That’s what this all powerful magical object does? How in the world does that connect to creation? And why bother doing that at all? It’s clear that gravity dust can keep things up---Ironwood said that they’ll have to lift Amity the “old-fashioned way”---so why bother using the relic for that when an “endless power source” could potentially be used to do so much more? Or let’s say dust can’t lift a whole city (even though you’d think someone would have realized that by now if that’s the case, questioned how the hell Atlas stays up there...) why is that so important? Just overall grimm protection? A symbol of status? This reveal seems to raise too many odd questions and, frankly, feels like a clumsy setup for the finale. Meaning, now Atlas is in risk of falling. If someone steals the relic or decides to move things along by lifting Amity with it, the entire city comes tumbling down.

With info out of the way Ironwood admits that he’d hoped coming to this place would spark some memory in Oscar, talking about him as if he is Ozpin, rather than just housing him. He likewise says later that “Eventually you won’t even know who’s who anymore.” Everyone cry over Oscar’s expression.

Jury’s out on whether Ironwood knows this for a fact or whether he’s working under an assumption, like much of the fandom, that Ozpin and Oscar will eventually merge into one new-ish person. After all, from what we saw in Volumes 1-3, Ironwood only ever interacted with Ozpin as one individual, so he has little reason to think there was always another, distinct person hanging out somewhere in his mind. But there could have been. I’ve mentioned in previous metas that if Ozpin and Oscar remain distinct, it makes perfect sense that Ozma would have been the one running things at Beacon, leaving the much younger and inexperienced host to take a backseat during those conversations.

Indeed, I thought for a moment that Oscar would say, “You can talk to him,” finally acknowledging that if someone tries to address Ozpin as his own person he might actually respond. He just says “You can talk to me” though. Which, yes. I also want people to talk to Oscar. It just astounds me that everyone continues to act as if Ozpin is literally out of their reach, rather than potentially a “Hey. I’m sorry. Can we talk?” away. Maybe Ozpin won’t answer, but someone could finally try.

They talk about how horrific it was for Ironwood to watch Beacon fall. We get a wonderfully creepy flashback to Salem’s chess piece, reminding us that she’s not just dangerous, she’s malicious. Salem enjoys watching those around her suffer. “The way she told me she was there.” They likewise discuss whether Salem doesn’t have an advantage without her humanity and Oscar cautions Ironwood that saving the world isn’t worth losing his own. Not to call out my favorite farm boy, but that’s a real easy stance to take when you know Salem is immortal and Ironwood doesn’t. Again, every sacrifice he makes is under the impression that it’s taking him closer and closer to a world without her. To his mind, losing his own humanity might be worth it if it rids the world of her once and for all. Meanwhile, Oscar is working under the impression that defeating Salem won’t ever happen. Why give up your humanity for an impossible dream? They’re coming at this from completely different angles and until everyone has the same info the group’s stance on Ironwood’s choices holds no water. The fandom loves insisting that RWBYJNR couldn’t have made an informed choice about joining the fight until they knew about Salem, despite the fact that they had already agreed to fight an immortal enemy (the grimm), had already risked their lives for the people, and clearly intended to continue doing that in the future. Knowing about Salem had no bearing on the question, “Do you want to help?” because they’d already answered that numerous times. In contrast, this is a situation where Ironwood actually doesn’t have all the information necessary to make an informed decision. You want to judge him for his plans and his willingness to sacrifice it all in the name of defeating Salem? Fine, but you’ve got to stop working with a different set of rules than him first.

Of course, despite being alone in the bottom of a vault, despite introducing Oscar’s (supposed) reservations about keeping secrets earlier in the volume, despite this insight into why Ironwood is making these choices... Oscar doesn’t tell Ironwood either. So much for the, “Oscar will spill the beans to Ironwood” theory. It could still happen, but like so much else in this episode by then it’ll be too late. The moment passed.

Instead of any progress in that regard they just head upstairs where Winter and Penny are waiting with a letter from Jacques. He’s invited them to dinner where Ironwood will defend his position on the council. Looks like Oscar’s advice to “talk to the people you’re most afraid to” came at them like a battering ram.

And that’s it for this week. What have we got left? Six episodes? Far too few to cover everything the story needs to. I’m gearing up for a bumpy ride this holiday season.

Until then, folks!

Minor Things of Note

The robot patting Penny’s head? Wonderful. Stellar. Absolutely fantastic detail. The idea that the Atlas facilities are populated with semi-conscious AIs and that they care enough about Penny to offer her support is just precious.

I like many of the shots we got this episode. Penny looking like she’s behind bars and Ironwood shrouded in a mist-like window are two that stood out.

#rwby #rwby volume 7 #rwby volume 7 spoilers #rwby recaps #mymetas

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kob131 · 4 years

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https://rwdestuffs.tumblr.com/post/625369121618640896/done-dirty-gods

I’d like to make the point that the light god, the dude who killed Oz repeatedly and abused Salem to the point that she became the villainous being that we know today, is somehow on the “Heroes Wiki.”

You know, not like she demanded special treatment, tried going behind his back and tried to destroy him and his brother all because she demanded that the cycle of death not apply to who she wants.

Because I guess abusers are heroes now.

Says the creator of the ‘Savivor Mom Raven’ series.

Oh, and also, I HAD TO USE GODDAMN SOUTH PARK AS PART OF MY OPENER!

Incorrectly might I add as both the Light and Dark gods are not portrayed as directly opposing each other. So you’re mad you ‘had’ to use a show’s meme...incorrectly.

Let’s get this out of the way for any of idiots out there: Salem was NOT responsible for Humanity 1.0′s death. She may have provoked these two asshats, but she wasn’t the one who

1: Loaded the gun.

2: Aimed the gun.

3: Fired the gun.

By the same logic, people say Yang murdered Adam. How does that go with you again?

What did Salem do?- She just stood up to them and, inadvertently, gave them a target.

She directly lied to the first iteration of humanity after being punished for lying to the gods and being directly told she shouldn’t have done that all over demanding her husband be brought back to life even though God knows how many people die and aren’t brought back by the gods despite having just as much reason to want them back as Salem.

As far as I’m concerned, these gods were the villains of the story, and what I wouldn’t give to see Yang punch one of them in the face.

Probably because it’s a penis vs. vagina for you.

When making these “Godly” characters, it’s okay to give them flaws. In fact, that’s what makes the Greek Gods, Norse Gods, Japanese Gods, and Egyptian Gods so interesting. They have flaws, weaknesses, and more relatable personality aspects that makes it seem like we could have the guy responsible for the ocean’s tides as our next door neighbor, or the adorable little dog across the street as the one responsible for the sun coming up… and beating up a fish in a giant mech suit. Goddamn, I want to play Okami again.

I got off-topic. The point is, is that it’s okay for these Gods to give flawed advice… Provided that they gave advice at all.

See, Light God was insensitive to Salem’s plight, and in all likelihood, used the same rhetoric that her father used to lock her up in that tower as an excuse to just brush her off.

Salem: (falling to her knees) Please... Please, bring him back to me.

God of Light: I understand your pain, but you demand of me that which I cannot make so. Life and death are part of a delicate balance.

Such terrible rhetoric.

BTW, funny how you mention the Greek Gods. You want to know what the role of most Greek Gods are in their home myths?

Living Embodiments of Punishing Pride.

Helena Of Troy’s mother, Narcassist and Echo, Odysseus, Arachne, Midas-

Most of the targets of the gods were people who dared to act arrogant and like they were better/deserved more with the Gods smiting them for their fatal sin. Even the Gods themselves weren’t exempt from this, as many of them fell prey to their own pride and arrogance with the few (mostly) unscathed Gods being that way because they were significantly less prideful. Fuck, the Greek Gods came to be because Chronos was so cocky he could just eat his kids that it never occurred to him that his wife Rhea would trick him.

In fact, an always noteworthy story I remember was the tale of Orpheus and Euradyice, where a man traveled to the Underworld using his musical talents and demanded to have his wife brought back to life. It ALMOST didn’t work but he was just able to convince Hades on the condition that he not turn back on his way home. Spoiler Alert, he did out of a lack of faith in Hades, his wife WAS following him but he lost her because of it.

I bring this up because the Greek Gods were the INSPIRATION for the Brothers and I’d bet dollars to donuts that Orpheus’ tale was the inspiration for Salem and Ozma. You try to act like you know something about these things but completely ignore that hubris, the thing that fucked Salem over, was a running theme in the source of her backstory.

So when Salem goes to Dark God, and he does fulfill her request, it’s honestly like Salem is now picking a side. Except, it turns out that Dark God actually has to answer to the Light God.

God of Light: I know we have our differences, but I have not come here with the aim to control you. The same, however, cannot said for her. This woman came to you only after I denied her pleas – pleas that would have disrupted the balance that you and I created. Together.

The younger brother ponders this revelation.

God of Darkness: Then it seems I owe you an apology. Allow me to correct my mistake.

No he doesn’t. But nice cut context.

Does the relationship between the gods seem… manipulative to anyone? Like… The Light God (Fuck it, let’s call him “Lumin” for now, I’m not typing out that whole thing) is abusive to his brother?

Considering what I quoted above- Nope.

Acording to… I think it was Qrow, possibly in a WOR, the Dark God (Let’s call him “Ebon” because that’s a badass name, and I’m honestly not in the mood for “Light = Good, Dark = Evil” to be the underlying theme here) made his creations first. then Lumin was all “I can make something too!” and made humans to one-up his brother.

RWBY Volume 4 Episode 8 “A Much Needed Talk”

Qrow: They were two brothers. The older sibling, the God of Light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the God of Darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the God of Darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all he could do to rid Remnant of life. Life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something - something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything.

Ruby: The creatures of Grimm.

Qrow: You guessed it. The older brother finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation... together, something that they could both be proud of, their masterpiece. The younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge, so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow - the path of light or the path of darkness. And that is how Humanity came to be.

You misrepresent the show AND got it backwards. The God of Light created things first, then The God of Darkness and Humanity was a joint project.

Why should we consider you at all reliable, especially given how easy it would be to research this?

Like… Does that at all seem healthy to you?

No in fact, The God of Darkness is kind of a jackass. But nice job portraying your delusions as the exact opposite dumbass.

But regardless of that relationship, Lumin basically acted like that one abusive parent who destroys all of the child’s toys just because they went to the other parent to do something that the first parent was callous in denying them to do. Sorry if that brought up any bad memories for people.

More like they took the toy away when the child tricked the other parent into buying it even though the first said no.

Not to mention the relics. Outside of their purpose to resummon the gods, they don’t really do much. But these are literal artifacts left behind by said gods.

Plus, Lumin give Oz an impossible task of uniting humanity. It’s like he wants Oz to fail because he just wants an excuse to wipe them all out again.

How is it impossible when Humanity was united BEFORE SALEM?

Lumin treats humankind as an “experiment gone wrong” as if he’s just playing with peoples’ lives for his own amusement. If anything, Ebon is more sympathetic because he actually listens to their problems and wants to help them out.

Yeah-

The God of Darkness created the Grimm that make Remnant such a horrible place to live and was the one that killed all of humanity.

God of Darkness: My own gift to them... used against me.

The God of Light looks away in disappointment as the God of Darkness squeezes the sphere within his hand, creating a massive shockwave that envelops the world, smiting everything and everyone in its path. Humanity has been turned to dust, only Salem remains due to her immortality.

How is he more sympathetic?

Meanwhile Lumin is all “Sucks that your man died. Now get out.” at best.

We get it- You’re delusional.

Let’s take a look at another set of flawed gods in the form of The Norse Pantheon. Namely, Odin, Loki, and Thor. In myth, these guys were all given tasks that were basically impossible. Thor was tasked with drinking the ocean, and failed. Odin wrestled with time, and was brought down. And Loki lost an eating contest to fire. These flaws and weaknesses in regards to their hubris are part of them.

Meanwhile, Apollo lost a love to Eros because he said that he couldn’t shoot as well as him but I guess you’d assume Eros was the bad guy.

I mentioned this briefly in my “Done dirty: Oz” post, but Oz was basically brought back to cause conflict. Because… I guess Lumin was bored?

Or you know- a second chance to have the gifts of the Brothers again.

But the narrative wants people to see that Lumin and Ebon are “All good. All caring. And all knowing.”

Which is a load of bullshit. The narrative tries to paint Salem as some unsympathetic witch who couldn’t let go. When…

1: The woman was abused and locked in a tower until Oz came to rescue her.

2: She was willing to fight God to get him back. If anything, that shows true love. If you want my opinion, if you’re not willing to deck a deity in the nose for your loved one, then you don’t care about them (Take that, Abraham. Willing to sacrificing your own son just because your God told you to. Bet you wouldn’t see that from Amaterasu).

1. Doesn’t matter. There have to be people living just as bad if not WORSE than Salem and lost loved ones- it’s literally the rules EVERYONE has to abide by.

2. No, she tried to fight two gods because she was pissy. She never tried to fight them until AFTER lying to the God of Darkness and lead people to their deaths. All in the name of a legendary HERO, someone who WOULDN’T want to be brought back after all this death.

What I’m saying is that these gods are detached. Which would be an interesting aspect if the narrative had bothered to show that as being a bad thing.

So were the Greek Gods. Not the point of either one.

Then again, this is all being told by Jinn, a creation of the Gods (Namely Lumin). So maybe there’s some bias in there where they’re trying to make Salem out to be irredeemable while the gods are the undisputed good guys- and holy SHIT!- Jinn’s in on the gaslighting.

i mean… I still want everyone to eventually realize that Salem was gaslighted into being the villain of the story. because that sounds way better than the “Abused woman lashes out and becomes evil” angle that they seem to be going at.

Yeah and Adam was branded. Guess that means you think Adam was in right to chop off Yang’s arm then.

Funny thing there- You literally can’t redeem Adam OR Salem and keep the other evil without looking hypocritical because they committed the SAME FUCKING SINS.

But given the writers’ ability to handle racism (or lack thereof), I don’t exactly have a lot of confidence in this.

Way to reference the plotline with the walking counter example in it.

Then again, the did call her Salem…

… But also again, they did write the WF plot as that horrible mess…

But they also looked into a lot of fairy tale aspects for their characters…

While you didn’t do a lick of research or else you’d know the shit about the Greek Gods.

Then again, you couldn’t even be bothered to confirm the shit about the Brothers even as you openly say ‘I don’t remember this clearly.’ So what really should I expect?

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lucytara · 6 years

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1/2 Hey I don't know if you have seen Eruptionfang's video about Bumblebee but I have question to you now that I saw it. I know people don't like him but I thought that video was not hateful and he explained himself well. But looking at the video and comments people are saying B&Y never got the same narrative development as B&S. And in someway I agree. Like B&S spend a lot of time outside of school together and obviously the two volumes as a whole. And I think we can admit Blake had a crush on

2/2Sun for a while. But I think they ignore the manga where we see B&Y relationship in school. In the animation we don’t see them as much interact like that but the manga makes it clear in my opinion that they have a close relationship and spend time together but it seems like a lot of people think contrary, as they have only seen the animation. But I don’t know seeing those comments made me doubt how much I watched it the way I wanted it. Do you think the narrative was there?

fair warning that this ended up turning into uhhhh…..a long post so welcome to rwby: a bumbleby vs black/sun narrative analysis

so i haven’t watched it, and in regards to it being not hateful, i think you first have to look at the intent behind it. first of all, it’s not his place to discuss this topic whatsoever. this story isn’t being written for him. it’s not being written for men. it doesn’t matter what y’all think about it, quite frankly, because it’s not for or about you: it’s about us, people who have never in history seen the kind of representation rwby is giving us with blake and yang. that’s something anyone who wants to “have an honest opinion about bumbleby” should think about. he didn’t. he ignored that, ignored the tons of wlw who love this portrayal and relationship. that tells me really everything i need to know about him as a person. the intent of his video is to bring people around to “his side” of things, his perspective, here’s why bumbleby was done wrong, b/s was done right, etc whatever. the intent behind him creating and posting this video is hateful. let’s be very clear about that.

the problem with people trying to claim that bumbleby came out of nowhere or that black/sun had a ton of now-pointless development is that their claims are almost always viewed through a heteronormative lens. they look at blake and sun on-screen together and they think it’s development. they think blake being visibly annoyed with sun for the entirety of volume 4 is romantic. they think his total lack of understanding her character but pushing her boundaries anyway is romantic. they think blake owes him her own feelings in return for his, just because he feels them. they think that because it’s a narrative that’s been popularized by media for literally…well…ever.

from a wlw perspective, for those of us who ship bumbleby, did not read sun and blake’s relationship as “development” in a romantic direction. i’ve always said that sun was a red herring. he appears - another faunus - at a time blake is desperately looking for someone to understand her. except he can’t! sun had a great life, so it seems! he thinks the white fang are nuts! he has nothing to do with any of the hardships blake has faced throughout her entire life. sun never understands her and he doesn’t, at any point, relate or empathize with her. he moves on very easily with his life after the incident with the white fang and torchwick. he tries to ask blake to the dance. she says the one line that lets us, the audience, know what she’d hoped from sun and wasn’t receiving: “i thought you of all people would understand that.” he doesn’t understand. but an episode or so later, someone does understand blake, and that person is yang.

this is really the Big “oh” moment for me. blake was looking for someone to understand her in sun, but she was looking in the wrong place. yang comes in unravels blake in the span of a single conversation. she understands blake perfectly, understands where she coming from and why, and most importantly, understands how to get her to stop. how to put things in perspective. burning the candle was honestly all the narrative we needed in regards to sun/yang/blake as a starting point. sun isn’t who blake wants him to be and this is where she’s started to realize that. this is where we, the audience, are also supposed to realize that.

sun and blake have then, what, one moment in v3? where he flirst with her in a stadium full of people and she blushes? sure, whatever. i’m not denying that on some level i think blake wanted to be interested in sun. i don’t really buy that she fully was, but i think she wanted to be. however, the last half of the volume, blake’s entire focus is on yang: yang, who she watches attack mercury, and rather than believing her immediately, finds herself shaken and reminded of adam. in this conversation, we’re told a couple of things: one, that yang and adam are parallels. blake is comparing them herself. the implication is that yang is also someone very dear to blake, and blake’s afraid of the same thing happening. but she ultimately believes yang when yang looks her in the eye.

then - a quick telling moment - blake’s eyes narrowing when hearing cinder describe yang attacking an innocent student. she immediately realizes yang was set up, and she was wrong to not believe her. this is important because imo this weighs on blake from the finale onward.

if we use some critical thinking skills, we can infer that blake and yang have spent quite a lot of time together up until the v3 finale. they’re literally partners, teammates. they share the same dorms. they’re together almost all the time, for - what - like 9 months or so? we can imagine they know each other pretty well. blake picked her to begin with. they’re close; we don’t have to know every single detail, especially considering the format rwby is presented in.

v3 finale - yang finds weiss, who tells her ruby’s still missing and so is blake. sun? also right there. doesn’t go look for her. yang makes the decision to prioritize blake and goes after her. we all know what happens now - adam takes one look at blake’s face and to yang and knows she’s someone blake loves. yang loses an arm and almost dies trying to protect her, blake almost dies trying to protect her immediately after. blake holds her hand and tells her she’s sorry while sun looks on at their joined hands.

like, there’s the narrative set-up. all of it. it’s right there. yang/adam are paralleled and yang immediately loses to him. he gives them both scars that link them together forever. they’re never going to be able to take that night back. they’re bound by it. they have the literal. scars. to prove it. and sun plays no role in it. people who ignore this in favor of the very surface-level development bs get are doing extreme disservices to the characters and the show itself.

i came in at the end of v3. i was elated all throughout volume 4 because blake literally was not interested in him, she wasn’t interested in his advances, and her heart was clearly elsewhere. she spent all of volume 4 upset that sun had followed her. she even has one last-ditch moment on the ship - where sun says “i knew exactly what you were doing” and she perks up for a moment before he hits the final nail in the coffin and completely misinterprets why she ran. like, that’s the end for bs romantically, right there. when sun still proves after all this time and everything that’s happened, he fundamentally doesn’t understand blake.

they had zero romantic interactions all throughout volumes 4 and 5. what they did have? friendship development. blake and sun essentially started over their entire relationship with blake finally in the right mindset to process it. she didn’t like sun, she never really liked sun, they’re incompatible and now she really sees that. so they work their way to a friendship, which is exactly what myself and most people in the bb fandom saw. blake wasn’t interested. it doesn’t matter how much sun was. both people need to be equally invested or a relationship is nothing. blake wasn’t interested. there is no way to retcon that or get around it. she doesn’t like sun romantically. she makes it explicitly clear, and i don’t respect anyone who chooses to ignore that. heteronormativity in media has taught us forever that what a girl wants/how she feels doesn’t matter as much as what the boy does, that perseverance is key, but that’s a fucked up narrative and i’m happy to see it subverted here.

anyway. during this period of time that blake and yang are apart, they’re constantly on each others’ minds. blake voices it once or twice; yang snaps one time and breaks down about it. we can infer that what hurt yang the most wasn’t losing her arm, it was that blake ran. yang wanted to be there for her. yang carries a photo of her around, so worn in the middle that it bend automatically, used to being grasped on blake’s side of the frame. these are details meant to imply certain things. yang misses blake and thinks about her more than she ever dares to say it aloud.

all of this builds both to them reuniting and volume 6. weirdly enough (not), a majority of the fandom predicted blake and yang’s dynamic this volume. we predicted exactly how blake would act, how yang would reciprocate. we predicted this accurately because we understand exactly the story crwby is telling and how it plays out. we knew blake and yang spent however long apart thinking about each other. we knew blake felt enormously guilty and sorry and regretted ever running in the first place, and we knew she’d promise yang she’d never do it again. (this was slightly more split, but) plenty of people predicted yang would forgive her instantly, because all yang wanted was to be by her side. we knew this because this story is being told to us and for us.

sun says it himself: it was never about romance where he and blake are concerned. she’s with who she’s supposed to be with now, and it’s not him. the show told us all of this.

someone’s inability to view a narrative through a different perspective than their own skewed one does not make it a bad narrative. rwby has done exactly what it’s intended to do with blake & yang, and if all of us - as our fandom is mostly comprised of wlw - could pick up on that perfectly, then the narrative is not the problem. the problem is the homophobic/heteronormative lens with which you are viewing the show through.

#bumbleby

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littlemisssquiggles · 5 years

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Pinehead Headcanons: Oscar’s Longest Memory II: Living Like Oz

@miki-13 Hey Miki-chan. Funny story. I was actually writing up this new Pinehead headcanon in response to your last question about Ozpin being Oscar’s Pilot when I saw your new messages last night. So I decided to combine my answers to your questions in this one post since ironically, the ideas for these actually lined up perfectly with this headcanon I have so I hope you enjoy it.

miki-13 asked “What do you think of Ozpin= The Pilot from The Little Prince?”

Let’s start with my views on Oz being the Pilot in Oscar’s Little Prince story. From what I read up on the Pilot Character from the Little Prince, he was also the narrator of the story. He was essentially the character through which the reader learnt of the Prince’s journeys after leaving his home planet. It was through the Pilot that we learnt of the Prince’s story and the wisdom he imparted on the Pilot during their time together in the dessert.

I also remember you telling me that the Pilot was another character that the Prince shared a close relationship with other than his Rose and the Fox.

From what I read up on the Pilot, it seems like the lessons about responsibility that the Prince learnt from the Fox and embracing the things you loved as a child was what the Prince imparted onto the Pilot and was what he mostly remembered about him from their time together.

When I look at it from that perspective, I can see where Oz can play the Pilot in Oscar’s Little Prince story. It makes me think back to my Oscar’s Journey to Oz headcanon where Oscar deep dives into his mind to bring Ozpin back. Somehow I can imagine the reconciliation between the two souls paying homage to the Little Prince’s encounter with the Pilot with the two just meeting in a part of Oscar’s mind that takes the form of a place from either Oscar’s memories or perhaps Oz? And the two just sit there within this memory talking to one another about their lives, their experiences and more importantly of all, where they both go from where they currently stood, y’know what I mean?

It’s moments like this that makes me wish we had gotten just a few more seasons with Oscar and Oz growing closer before we got the inevitable separation in V6. It probably would’ve been twice as more impactful if Oscar and Oz shared a deeper connection than what we know them to have canonically.

From the moment Oscar met Oz, their relationship suffered a rocky start with Oscar’s whole apprehension of leaving home to go to Mistral on behalf of Oz and everything he told him regarding his sudden change in fate.

Even up to the moment where Oscar first meets Qrow, Oscar still harboured a snarky attitude towards Oz’s presence. Sure things started softening up between them during what little we saw of their interactions during V5, but in hindsight, it’s very evident that Oz and Oscar still have way to go before they can live in harmony with one another like the Wizards before them.

I will admit this though. I was pretty nice to hear Oscar acknowledge Oz as a part of him in V7CH7. It makes me wish we had gotten more moments like that with him just sitting around thinking about Ozpin and the potential of them reconnecting. I guess this is one of my gripes for this season in regards to Oscar’s side of things. Here we are yet again with the PLOT not taking the opportunity to further flesh out Oscar’s character and his relationship with Ozpin by presenting Oscar attempting to reconcile with Oz within his mind and bring him back while working together with Ironwood.

We don’t even really know how Oscar even feels about Ozpin coming back since the show focuses so little on him and how he’s been taking in everything and even when it does focus on Oscar, a lot of it seems to only hint at Oz without really addressing him.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see more examples of Oscar being his own person by having him express how he feels about certain topics rather than it be him trying to mimic Oz in some way. I like that a lot. However, at the same time, I feel like the show is having Oscar almost ignore Ozpin in a way. Despite implying that he’s a part of him, we don’t get to really see how much Ozpin’s absence has affected Oscar in the sense of how this has affected Oscar’s overall relationship with the old soul. We’ve gotten one or two glimpses of it here or there but nothing really grounding as yet, at least in my opinion.

Often at times, I can’t help but feel as if the PLOT avoids the characters talking about Ozpin and just writes around him, if that makes sense. Like it’s evident that his presence and the result of his actions are spearheading the events currently happening in the narrative at the moment. However at the same time, I feel like the characters are addressing Oz without really addressing Oz; y’know what I mean? Like they mention him in passing but they don’t really go in depth with how feel about learning of his past.

The closest thing we’ve received to that thus far is with Ruby confessing to Maria back in V6 that she’s still unsure of how she felt about Oz after the truth was revealed. This was later repeated again when Ruby voiced her concerns to Qrow that she might be mirroring Oz in her actions toward their trust in Ironwood---highlighting that what Oscar’s words to her at the start of CH3 did weigh on her ---only for Qrow to brush it off with an air of indifference. Qrow is another character with whom the PLOT has portrayed adamantly avoiding addressing his true feelings in relation to his affiliation with Oz.

I actually think Qrow’s stubbornness to talk about Oz is what’s irking me the most given their longstanding history together. At the least the show has highlighted how much Ironwood would like for Oz to return as well as Oscar’s willingness to accept Oz coming back should he chose to come back of his own accord.

But Qrow---Qrow I would say is a tough case since, even if V7 ends with Oz making a comeback with all of our young heroes wishing to give Oz a second chance and bury the hatchet, I’m not so sure about Qrow. I think Qrow might take a long time to get over his resentment towards Oz right now.

Seriously Qrow, Oz wasn’t just the man your sister once claimed you blindly followed for several years of your life. He was also your friend. Quit acting like he doesn’t exist to you anymore, for Pete’s sake.

It’s moments like these that made me wish we could’ve gotten at least one or two episodes of V7 where the main drivers of the chapter were Ironwood, Oscar and Qrow. With all the stuff going on with Watts and Tyrian, the politics surrounding Atlas and Mantle, Jacques and his wicked schemes in pursuit of power, the construction of Amity Arena and so forth---there’s just not enough time to focus on these three guys.

And that’s a feels bad moment right there since I honestly feel like this volume should’ve had Ironwood, Oscar and Qrow be the three focal characters of this season. I mean, in some ways they kind of are…but…not really? I mean it’s subtle if you squint your eyes but more definitely needs to be done for these three since they are the people closest to Oz right now.

Ruby’s part in all of this is important too since I believe she’ll be needed to convince the others as our titular spark of hope but, I dunno, I guess bottom line what I’m trying to say is that I could’ve used just a smidge more focus on the General, Oscar and Qrow talking about their true feelings in relation to their respective ties to Ozpin. But who knows? Maybe there’s still hope for me to get my wish a little bit. We do still have 5 more episodes left before this season ends so we’ll see.

In meantime, let’s go back to the Ozpin Pilot connection. So I’ve already shared my views on Oz being Oscar’s Pilot, however I’d like to present to you another consideration m’dear Miki-chan. Have you ever considered the thought of perhaps…Oscar could be the Pilot to Ozpin’s story?

Similar to how the Pilot’s encounter with the Prince changed his perspective on the world, you can say the same was done for Oscar since meeting Oz sparked his journey to becoming a huntsman. However that’s not the angle I’m really going for. As I mentioned earlier, it was the Pilot who relayed both the Prince’s story and his time with the Prince to the reader.

So imagine if we got a similar scenario in RWBY where we finally learned of Ozpin’s story ---the man who he used to be before he joined Ozma’s lineage and became the man we know as Professor Ozpin---through Oscar?

For the sake of my theory, I’m going to refer to original Oz by my fanon idea for his true name---Zoroaster Ozpin or simply ‘Zo’ for short.

What if…somehow, someway, Oscar is the one to reveal Zo’s past to us as the audience, highlighting his journey and struggles from the day he became a Wizard of Light to the moment he became the man we know as Professor Ozpin all concluding with the moment we never got to see---the moment Oz died and was eventually paired with Oscar.

One curious question that I have been pondering about for some time now was why was Oscar the one specifically chosen to be Oz’s successor? Everything I’ve gathered on Oscar right now seems to point to him being different than past Wizards.

Let’s start with the first clear indicator---Oscar’s age. Even after learning of the Lost Fable, Oscar is still clearly the youngest Wizard in Ozma’s lineage. For the most part, each of Ozma’s descendants has been adult men (possibly in their mid to late twenties or so) who all appeared no older than Ozma was when he died in his first life. I’d like to think that even Ambroise---the withering old man we saw depicted in Ozma’s line following Diggs’ death---was probably a young adult when Diggs soul was paired with him and what the Fable mainly portrayed was how the previous wizard lived with their successor up even in old age.

In my RWBY Musing #57 discussing the Ozma Cycle, my theory was that the age that all Wizards were chosen was 28 years old. I also mentioned the possibility that the Wizards were each reincarnated a consecutive amount of years apart. My hunch is that the Wizards were all reborn half a century apart so each time they return, it’s in a completely different time period in Remnant’s history from their predecessor. I strongly believe that Oscar is the first instance where a Wizard was resurrected ‘prematurely’ within the same era as the last one and my rationale behind this thought was due to the villains’ reaction to Oz being back so soon.

Not to mention how Oz stated back in V5 that he left specific instructions with his trusted lieutenants in the event of his death. If the way the Ozma Cycle worked was that the Wizards were reborn immediately then why the need to leave detailed instructions with trusted advisors? I don’t think Oz was supposed to be back. At least, probably not for another couple of decades buying his advisors enough time to live out the tasks Oz had entrusted him with before he returned down the line---probably when all of them were dead.

Although Oz didn’t seem to react at all to being reborn so soon despite his enemies reacting that way, it doesn’t denounce the fact that Oscar is somewhat of an anomaly within the cycle. Not only is he the youngest Wizard shown to record but the shortest rebirth with Oz being paired with him shortly after his death during the Fall of Beacon. Oscar is meant to be different than all the other Wizards. There is an air of intrigue surrounding him and his fate with the Merge and why I bring this up is because I have a hunch that Oscar might be curious as to why he was chosen to be a part of Ozma’s cycle.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Oscar may have questions surrounding his fate, particularly with what will happen to him one day with the Merge. Or rather, I wonder if there is a part of Oscar that wonders how Oz previously handled his inevitable fate before.

How did Oz---or rather Zo- take to learning that one day he was just going to disappear and become someone else that he might not recognize or might not even know that he’s changed into?

I bring this up because the show has subtly dropped some hints to Oz’s past as Zo and his experience with the Merge. It was teased through Ironwood with his apparent affiliation to Ozpin both during his lifetime as headmaster and formerly as Zo.

I can’t help but shake this feeling that the PLOT could potentially be leading us into learning more about the true nature of the Merge with Ozpin’s backstory.

I think there is a golden chance for both the audience and Oscar to learn more about Ozpin and I think a way this can potentially be done is if Oscar lived through Ozpin’s memories, both in his life as Zo and his life as the man we knew he became.

This is the section of this post where I’m going to go into my answer to your recent message from yesterday.

miki-13 asked:

“ So I just had an absolutely awful idea. You mentioned the possibility of Oscar and Ruby arguing and Ruby saying she doesn't trust Oz, and by extension Oscar, and how that's the final straw that pushes Oscar away from her. You also had the headcanon of Ruby having nightmares where Oscar uses the relic to reveal everything they did and what they learned in Volume 6. And Oscar brought the relic with them to the Schnee Manor in episode 8.

What if the argument happens at the manor and Ruby's emotions over everything finally boil over and she says something she regrets immediately? This could be the final straw that makes Oscar decide to tell Ironwood the truth and Ruby, in a fit of fear, grabs him to stop him. While they two struggle against each other, the lights go out and they hear screams. Tyrian has shown up and starts attacking people like at the rally.

In the dark as they try to get their footing and try to get the lights back on, Ruby hears Tyrian whisper in her ear, "An eye for an eye~" and raises his tail to attack her... only for Oscar to push her out of the way and take the blow for her. The lights come back on, Tyrian is gone and Ruby can only stare horrified at the bloody wound Oscar has suffered as he falls unconscious.”

What you call absolutely awful, I call brilliant since I had a similar thought, m’friend. In a nutshell, yes to everything that you wrote.

I like your idea of Oscar confronting Ruby and her accidentally saying something that she’ll regret later. I like it since I shared the same concept in my Oscar’s Longest Memory headcanon. It was even on my Bingo Card for CH8 but we both know how that went...Hurumph!

Basically, my version of this concept was that Ruby and Oscar would get into a fight over revealing the truth to Ironwood and during that fight, Ruby lets it slip that she doesn’t trust Ozpin.

Heck, I even have this imagined scenario where Ruby lets her emotions get the best of her like you said and she goes as far as to say that she HATES Ozpin.

Like it’s a moment where Ruby outright says she hates Ozpin because she blames him for everything---blames him for hiding the truth about Salem from everyone; making them fight a war he knew fully well that they couldn’t win.

Blames him for then leaving them behind in the dark on what to do next while saddling Ruby with that burden considering that since Ozpin left, she’s the one whose been forced to carry the full weight of everything on her shoulders with everyone looking to her for guidance.

It’s a moment of genuine frustration for Ruby that she just unloads on Oscar in the rawest of unapologetic anguish since she’s been doing her best to make up for all of Ozpin’s many, many mistakes so Oscar accusing her of being just like him hurts more than anything since from Ruby’s point of view, how can she be like Oz when she’s the one who’s actively been trying to fix the mess Oz made. It’s all on her now! Or y’know something like that.

I can see this being a really heated argument beween Ruby and Oscar---the most we’ve seen since Yang and Raven. Oscar calls out Ruby for her actions and Ruby in turn takes out her frustration on Oscar ultimately culminating in her saying that she hates Oz---a remark that this time, Oscar takes heavily to heart just as how Oz took Qrow’s remark from V6 and he makes the same perplexed, broken expression of utter shock.

After all, Oz is a part of Oscar and this is how Oscar sees him too. The PLOT even acknowledged that in V7CH7. So if Oscar sees Oz as a part of him then Oscar will take any animosity directed at Oz onto himself.

So if Ruby says she hates Ozpin then naturally Oscar would take that to mean that she hates him too by extension.

Then again, perhaps Ruby yelling that she hates Oz might be too harsh. On a slightly more light-hearted tone, let’s say...Ruby reveals that she doesn’t trust Oz since she blames him for everything. And since trusting in love or love and trust going hand in hand seems to be a theme for this season, let’s say Ruby implying that she doesn’t trust Oz is synonymous with her saying that she hates him in a way. At least, that’s how it’s treated through Oscar’s reaction.

So the thing Ruby ends up regretting later is her yelling in Oscar’s face that she doesn’t trust Oz with him taking it to mean that she doesn’t trust him either. After all, Ruby can’t trust only half of Oscar especially if the idea, by Oscar’s impressions, is that he is supposed to disappear one day while Oz takes his place.

If Ruby doesn’t trust Oz then she basically doesn’t trust Oscar too. And although we get a scene where Ruby might probably attempt to redact her statment, let’s say…Oscar retorts by asking Ruby if she trusted him wholeheartedly meaning all of him, not just the part of him that’s still himself.

It ends up being a question that Ruby is unable to answer since she’s conflicted on her trust in Oscar and her trust in Oz. However in the end, Ruby doesn’t need to answer since her hesitation was all Oscar needed to solidify the truth---if Ruby doesn’t trust Oz then she doesn’t trust him either.

So just like in your idea, the argument between the Rosebuds ends on a sour note. The scenario then worsens with Tyrian showing up after Ruby and Oscar fight and Oscar getting hurt afterwards. I even like your idea of Oscar pushing Ruby out of the way and taking the killing blow for Ruby.

See, it’s like adding salt to the wound. It hurts because it burns and in Ruby’s case, an idea like this could give her another reason to feel guilty afterwards for her actions.

As the lights turn back on, there is Ruby standing over Oscar with her hand hard pressed against bleeding chest where he had been punctured as Oscar struggles to breathe and say something to her.

Let’s say...Tyrian got Oscar straight through the chest---it’s a bad enough wound for it to be seen as life threatening but Oscar still survives through it in the end because let’s say Tyrian missed him Oscar’s heart by an inch. However it doesn’t stop the poison.

Ruby is there, hands shaking and tears falling from her face as she did her best to keep Oscar alive. She even yells for Jaune multiple times to help. Immediately Jaune is at Oscar’s side ready to pump aura into him to save him.

However it took a few minutes for Jaune to actually get Ruby to move away since she was so scared that Oscar could die before her eyes. It wasn’t until, Yang or maybe Weiss gently takes her away from Oscar when Jaune was allowed to do his thing to help Oscar long enough until the medics came. Or something like that.

Continuing off your idea, let’s say this leads to Oscar being hospitalized in a comatose state; warded at the same medical facility we saw Winter take Weiss in CH5.

From here, we can get the story building up the prospect of JNR_RWBY reconciling with Oz by having what happened to Oscar weighing heavily on all of everyone emotionally.

Ruby is especially devastated the most by this incident since the last thing, according our theories, the last thing she told Oscar before he got seriously hurt was that she basically doesn’t trust him.

In Ruby’s mind, Oscar could potentially die and the very last thing Ruby told him is the equivalent of saying I hate you after he risked his own life to save hers. Right after he tried to stop her from making a big mistake.

Let’s say...Ruby blames herself for what happened to Oscar and who knows? Perhaps this type of scenario could even lead into Penny helping Ruby.

Imagine if...it’s a scenario where Oscar is in the hospital but Ruby hasn’t been to visit him since the night he got attacked. She’s been avoiding seeing Oscar; instead choosing to distract herself with huntsmen duties since the loss of the heating in Mantle and the uproar of its citizens has been causing more and more Grimm activity which means all huntsmen on deck.

Let’s say...the others notice Ruby’s reluctance to see Oscar but it’s Penny who goes to speak to her. Ruby has always been very understanding of Penny and her emotions, offering her a listening ear whenever needed.

It’d be nice to see this reflected in Penny with her helping Ruby deal with her feelings and guilt over what happened to Oscar. Y’know have Penny help Ruby understand her emotions for a change, if you get what I mean while sticking another pin in the growth of the Nuts and Dolts friendship.

If something were to happen to Oscar again, I can see it sparking another chain reaction that affects the other members of the hero team leading into everyone potentially rethinking their actions and how they might've been treating each other (or other people they’re affiliated with) in the recent times (or even in the past) since they got to Atlas.

Let’s say…since Oscar’s coma causes Weiss to recall what her mother told her in regards to Whitley’s well-being leading to her rethinking her entire relationship with her baby brother; might even lead into some more Schnee Family discussions between Weiss and Winter, this time about Whitley.

Maybe it also sparks Ren finally coming clean to Nora about how he’s been feeling since his whole spiel this volume is his inability to express how he feels; apparently.

And from there, perhaps it can lead into Nora finally talking about herself and explaining why she’s been so hot and bothered over the affairs of the People of Mantle.

For Yang and Blake, perhaps we might receive another example of them talking about what transpired back in Argus surrounding Adam which could potentially lead into them discussing their relationship as a whole.

Not necessarily in a romantic sense but just in general since, as the PLOT keeps hammering in our faces for this season, these two have been through a lot together and haven’t really had a breather to talk to each other about it, y’know what I mean

I can see a subplot like this leading into some really solid character building for everyone. Particularly Oscar.

Why? Because other than the rest of the group, I can easily see this idea presenting an opportunity to peer into Oscar’s mind and learning more about him through his memories. It can even lead into us learning more about Oz and his life as Zo?

This brings me to the meat of my post.

What if…while in a comatose state, Oscar ends up living through Ozpin’s memories, experiencing them either as if he was an invisible spectator watching them play out in front of him or perhaps it’s a case where Oscar opens his eyes to find himself standing in Ozpin’s body.

In the memory, Oscar is Ozpin playing through his life as if he was Ozpin, making all the decisions that Oz once made in the past while going through all the emotions as Oz once experienced themas if they were his own.

Consciously Oscar is fully aware that he is still himself but since it’s Ozpin’s memories that he’s living through, he neither can help but feel the way Oz felt in those scenarios nor can he actively do stop the outcomes of certain choices Oz was forced to make in those moments even if he wanted to.

It is in this sense where Oscar can become Ozpin’s Pilot---steering us through Ozpin’s backstory as he learns it himself by living it.

Oscar even lives through the same Oz memory that Ironwood told him about in CH7---where he was the one who suggested that Atlas use the Relic of Creation to lift the kingdom into the sky. It was the day Oz first brough the Relic of Creation to Atlas.

Imagine if…through Ozpin’s memories, Oscar meets a different James Ironwood--- a past version of the man we know him to become.

Imagine if…this memory was Ozpin’s first time meeting with James and during this encounter, Oz was accompanied by a different Leonardo Lionheart who was there to assist Oz in recruiting Ironwood in a sense.

Oz did say back in V6 that our heroes didn’t know the man Lionheart used to be before Salem got to him and since we never got to see more of Leonardo, maybe Oz’s memories of him from the time he was still his trusted friend can be the PLOT’s chance to help shed a different perspective on Leo.

Not necessarily trying to redeem him of the cowardly man turned traitorous villain we knew he becomes but more so to highlight how Leo was from how Oz saw him and how Oz felt about him at the time.

We can even meet a younger Qrow Branwen, touching on the memory of when Oz first met Qrow---showing how Qrow used to be as a teenager training to become a huntsmen at Beacon while explaining why Qrow chose to believe in Oz for so long. It’s a chance to show the spark of Qrow and Oz’s relationshop, justifying why Qrow cherished it for so long while simultaneously rationalizing his resentment towards Oz now.

Who knows? Perhaps… we can even learn more details on Summer Rose and her disappearance through Ozpin’s memories of her?

In V7CH4, it was heavily implied by Qrow during his conversation with Ruby that Oz might’ve been keeping something on Summer as well.

“…Her last mission, was that another Oz secret?”

“ There were a lot of those back in our day, but this one was a Summer secret. When she didn’t come back, Ozpin seemed just as in the dark as myself and your father. Still, who knows what he may have hidden from us over the years…”

If there are more secrets to be learnt then the next key to uncovering them would be in Ozpin’s memories. Memory is the key.

Last time we learnt Ozma’s memories and his biggest kept secret via Jinn and the Relic of Knowledge.

Although we didn’t learn everything since we never got to see Ozpin’s side of the story and as Qrow told Ruby in V7CH4, there is more to be uncovered about Oz.

So yeah. Basically what I’m saying here in a nutshell is in the event of Oscar becoming another unfortunate victim of Tyrian at Schnee Manor, I can see it leading into us learning more about Oz by having Oscar live through all of Ozpin’s memories unveiling any more secrets he might’ve hidden over the years, including any info on what became of Summer Rose.

More than that, it’s a chance for Oscar to learn about Oz by literally being in his shoes and living through his life. Who knows? Perhaps we might even learn more about the night Oz died during the Fall of Beacon revealing how and why Oz ended up with Oscar of all people in the first place and why so soon.

And from this experience, not only will Oscar walk away understanding Oz more than he ever did before but maybe the audience will as well.

Maybe this experience could even lead into Oscar finding Oz deep within his mind.

Maybe by the time Oscar meets Oz again, he is so overwhelmed by all that he experienced through learning of his full life and all of his personal hardships that the most the young farm boy could so is just embrace Oz in solidarity. Because now he understood.

Now Oscar understood Oz.

Thus…this leads into the two souls finally being able to mend their relationship properly thus sparking a more collaborative path toward Oscar and Oz finally living together in harmony since now, Oscar knows Oz’s life because he’s lived it. Oz’s life and journey is now a part of Oscar.

And who knows…perhaps from this experience Oscar receives the answers that he’s been looking for in regards to the Merge. From living through Oz’s experience with Merge, he learns that he is going to be okay or at least he gains an understanding of Oz that he no longer feels apprehension of becoming a part of him in the end. Or something along those lines.

This type of story is a chance to really have Oscar and Oz come together in true camaraderie and be a real chance to flesh them both out.

I know most Pineheads are hyped for Oscar’s potential semblance reveal.

However for me, y’know my anticipation has mostly been directed towards learning more about Oscar as a person and/or seeing him and Ozpin reconcile while inside of Oscar’s mind.

I don’t know if we’ll ever get something like this in the canon at all. If I’m being completely honest, I kind of doubt it. However, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think this was a possibility given some of the breadcrumbs dropped as set up from the last few episodes.

But in the event that Tyrian doesn’t attack Schnee Manor and Oscar walks away fine and dandy, I do have a Plan B alternative to this theory where we can have Oscar unlock more on Oz through the Relic of Knowledge.

However, I’ll save that for it’s own separate post for the New Year since this post is already long as it is.

Overall, I hope you liked this post Miki-chan. If you’re able to shoot me a comment on what you think of this post, let me know. If not, that’s alright.

I hope you liked it either way and I hope it answers your questions at least. I know I wrote a lot XD

That being said, with this officially being my last Pinehead headcanon for 2019, gonna wish you and all my fellow Pineheads a Happy New Year and see you guys in 2020 for more Oscar- worthy theories from the squiggle meister!

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

#miki-13 #squiggles answers: rwby #oscar pine #ruby rose #professor ozpin #rwby theories #rwby volume 7 theories #rwby volume 7 spoilers #pinehead headcanons #squiggles pinehead headcanons

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gladuisnocturno · 4 years

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It all started at First Aid Class

Let me paint you a picture and tell me if it sounds familiar. Quirky girl meets a dorky boy. The two hit it off almost immediately. A girl with troubles making friends and a boy trying too hard to be liked, seemingly out of nowhere encountered each other…and all of those insecurities just banished. It just felt natural, it was as if they had known each other since the beginning. They shared laughs, they shared dreams and over time, they began to share more and more. What drove them, what scared them, what gave them guilt and what gave them hope and in every step of their journey, no matter what the world threw at them, they were always there for each other. A simple meeting built a bond that couldn't be broken. It just felt right.

It's been a few years since that encounter, but the spark of that friendship only grew larger. Jaune and Ruby had been through a lot. They had their victories, their challenges…and their losses, but they faced it all together.

Their journey now took them to Atlas Academy, a place of wonders and distrust, but somewhere that reminded them of their old home at Beacon. Teams RWBY and JNPR had fought through Grimm, terrorists, and villains, but after all of their adventures, they now found themselves with a little bit of time for themselves.

General Ironwood had granted them the title of Huntsmen and with it, the teams had finally reached what they had worked so hard to become, but of course, the circumstances meant that they were still a bit inexperienced. Fortunately, the General gave them free leeway to make use of Atlas Academy's resources to further their growth as true Huntsmen. Students, teachers, facilities, and of course classes. They would have been crazy not to take the opportunity…then again, something happened at a certain class…something that made things…a bit awkward for everyone.

"Yang, for the love of the gods! Turn down the music!" Weiss yelled. As usual, she was trying to focus on her studies, she had taken a few too many supplementary classes, something that of course pleased her…yeah, I don't get either, but neither did Yang. Her blonde teammate kept on dancing in their dorm.

"Come on! Throw those books away and have some fun for once, Weiss!".

"Books are fun! How dare you?!".

And thus, another argument, but as usual, Blake found herself having to mediate between the two.

"She is…kind of right, Yang…." Blake said rather nervously, hiding her shame behind her book.

Yang and Blake had been developing a special bond lately, so as soon as she heard that, Yang responded with awkward shock, "Oh!..I…I thought you were enjoying it…I'm sorry..".

"No! No! I was! It's just that…maybe you can turn the volume down just a little?" Her cat ears retracted as she quickly tried to cheer Yang up. "It's fine! Really! Maybe we can read later!"

"No, if it's bothering you…"

"Is not! Really! I promis…"

"UGH! Just kiss already!" Weiss rolled her eyes, getting third wheeled was becoming a recurring thing in their spared time and at this point, she just wanted them to get it over with.

"WHAT?!".

"WE-WE WERENT GOING TO…"

"Fine! Then don't! whatever. Just, turn down the volume. I don't want to get distracted with neither your music nor your 'will they, wont they' routine". Weiss said without taking her gaze from her books, leaving Yang and Blake to fluster and murmur in embarrassment.

Blake crawled to her bed and hid once again in her book, but Yang was a notoriously sore loser. Her embarrassment however only let her mumble her snappy comeback, "….At least I have a will they wont….".

"AH! FORGET IT! Where is Ruby?! I can't deal with the two of you alone!". Weiss, said even more frustrated. She would have been lying if that comment didn't sting though.

"She should still be in her first aid class, right?" Blake responded.

"Oh yeah, that started today".

Weiss took a deep breath to calm her nerves, but her frustration still lingered…if only she knew it was going to get worse. " Sigh. Why she even took that anyways?".

"Why else do you think? Jaune asked her to take it with him".

"Seriously?! The guy healed me from a stab wound with his semblance and he needs first aid classes?".

"Nora said he didn't want to rely on his semblance though. Honestly, I can relate to that". Yang responded, she completely understood where he was coming from. She had to learn that her semblance, while useful, should not be more than a tool for the right moments.

Jaune himself had been working towards becoming a good guardian, protecting his loved ones and the people that needed him was the path he chose, so learning first aid was just a part of his formation. Ruby in turn was more used to protecting by attacking, she was a prodigy in combat, and dealing with threats was her way of guarding those in need, however, knowing how to treat a wound was a useful skill that she wanted to learn as well.

"Fine. Then I'll go to the library. You two have fun…but not too much…".

"WEISS!" Blake yelled in embarrassment while Yang just turned red.

Weiss chuckled a bit, "You two are adorable" she said to herself as she opened the door. To everyone's surprise, a twister of roses trampled everything in the room, throwing Weiss and Yang to the floor and leaving the room full of petals. The red whirlwind rushed to the top bed bunk and hid under the sheets.

"RUBY! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!". Weiss yelled, surprised, a bit angry at the sudden rose storm that hit her in the face but also genuinely worried for her best friend.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!". Ruby yelled before hiding her face against her pillow.

Yang, Blake, and Weiss all jumped at the scene, all concerned. It wasn't usual for Ruby to act this way.

"Rubes! What happened?" Yang asked her little sister, climbing to her side trying to console her.

"…issed me….".

"What?".

Ruby turned her face away from the pillow a little. She had some tears in her eyes and her blushing face was redder than her hood. "Jaune kissed me…".

Yang froze. Her eyes wide and an awkward and confused smile covered her face. She slowly climbed down and walked backward, still facing her sister and still with that weird smile on her face.

"What did she say?" Blake asked.

"Jaune…kissed her….".

"Jaune kissed her?".

"Yeah…"

The room went silent for a minute. Blake served water to her friends and the three of them cleared their throats. Once refreshed, they took a deep breath and responded in the most naturally and calmly way possible.

"….JAUNE KISSED YOU!?".

"SHUT UP! DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD!"

Ruby kept on hugging her pillow as tightly as possible, trying to shield herself from the embarrassment, but her older sister didn't exactly make things easy for her.

Yang picked her up as if she was still a 5-year-old, hugging her and swinging her around with joy, "You had your first kiss! I'm so proud of you!".

"Yang! Let me go!" Ruby whined, freeing herself from her sister's hug with a temper tantrum.

"But this is so cute!".

"Shouldn't you be upset? I mean, Jaune just took advantage of your little sister!" Blake argued, but Yang just kept a joyful smile.

"Well, yeah, if it was any other person I would be pissed. But this is Jaune we are talking about. I mean, I once saw him apologize to a bunch of baby spiders for killing their mom, he was crying the entire time and cried, even more, when the baby spiders crawled in his mouth". Yang responded chuckling with a big smile.

Weiss was curious. She had some unpleasant times with Jaune back at Beacon. At the time she sure would have bought that he would be the kind of guy to steal a kiss from a girl…but that was a long time ago. Jaune wasn't the sort of person she once thought he was. He had grown a lot since then, he left those habits behind him and Weiss knew perfectly well that Yang was right, he cared a lot about Ruby and would never take advantage of her.

"Here" Weiss told her partner before passing her a glass of water that Ruby instantly drank entirely. "Better?".

"…Mhm".

"Good. Now, tell us what happened".

Ruby took a deep breath. "It-It all started at first-aid class…".

Classes at Atlas Academy normally were given in large auditoriums full of students listening to a conference from one of the many teachers of the academy. However, the first aid class was a more private and personal course. It was an elective, students had the option to take the class or chose another and since this wasn't a particularly exciting course, not many took it. Still, Jaune was very intimidated by the group of around 12 students sitting around him.

"Come on, where are you? Please don't leave me alone here…" He kept saying to himself, begging for his friend to finally arrive.

The door was opened but to Jaune's misfortune, it wasn't who he wanted it to be. Instead, it was the teacher in charge of that morning's class.

"Good morning students. Please have a sit" Winter Schnee walked with elegance and authority everywhere she went. "I'm afraid Mrs. Silva is undisposed today. As such, I've been assigned to substitute her. For those who don't know me, I am Special Agent Winter Schnee. Today we will go over basic first aid techniques following the training guides of the Atl…"

The sound of the door slamming open was more than enough to throw Winter off her tracks and of course, the entire classroom quickly turned towards the sound.

"IM HERE! I made it in….time…".

Jaune just chuckled awkwardly, seeing how Ruby tried her best to keep her cool as she walked down to her seat.

"Ms. Rose, you are late".

"I'm sorry, Winter! Nora challenged me to a waffle eating contest and I could have beaten her if only…".

"Just take a seat! And it's Ms. Schnee".

"Right, sorry. Ms. Schnee. Hehe" She said, she was clearly a bit embarrassed but as soon as she sat next to Jaune, that embarrassment didn't matter at all. She was just happy to see him and so was he of seeing her.

"I was totally gonna win though", She whispered to Jaune who immediately chuckled.

"Against, Nora? Please, I've seen her eat a full pie in less than a minute".

"Oh, so you are a man of low faith, I see! I'll show you!".

"She had already eaten a full cake and a milkshake".

"Ok, then maybe I was 5 waffles behind, but the match didn't end so if you think about it…"

Two white summoned Nervermores flew at high speed and landed on their heads, pecking them slightly.

"Ow! OW!".

"Ow! That hurts!".

"Rose! Arc! May I remind you; you are in the middle of a class!?".

"Sorry, Ms. Schnee…". The two said with shameful voices but as soon as Winter turned to her board, Jaune and Ruby just took a quick look at each other and chuckled at the sight of the other's smile.

The class continued as Winter went over multiple techniques of first aid in a variety of situations. Jaune and Ruby took the class seriously for the most part, but of course, there were moments in which neither could avoid just goof around with the other. Whether it was Jaune throwing small paper balls at her or Ruby making funny drawings of him, the two were occasionally caught by the serious gaze of their teacher but neither could stop having fun with the other, it was just the way they were.

It had been so long since the two got to have some time to breathe and just enjoy each other's company. Ever since the Fall…it was rare to see either smile. Jaune was haunted by the sorrow of losing Pyrrha that night, while Ruby was filled with guilt for not having been able to save her and for dragging Jaune in this mission, knowing full well how much he was suffering.

The journey hadn't been easy. The weight of the world resting on their shoulders, it was unbearable at times. Ruby in particular tended to push through her doubts and sorrow, but of course, she had her limits. Some nights she would wake up sweating and with tears in her eyes, desperately wiping them out before someone noticed it. Everyone relied on her to continue going, which she did gladly, but she would be lying if she said it didn't affect her at times…but then, there were moments like this one. Moments in which she could forget for a moment all the pressure of the world and just enjoy herself. She enjoyed just letting loose with her friends, her team, her family. And of all those people, there was one she just enjoyed hanging around the most. Jaune was always there for her when she was in doubt when she needed help and especially when she needed someone to smile at her, Jaune was always there.

Jaune began his journey without knowing what even meant to be a true hero. He was put in a position of responsibility that he never thought he would be able to handle. He worked to better himself, he learned through many mistakes, and eventually…his fears became true…he failed and people got hurt because of him. The Fall of Beacon left a dark void in his heart. To say he had been in a dark place would be an understatement…and yet, here he was, with a smile once again. Ruby had always been there for him. When he had doubts, she was the first one to inspire him. When the world told him to stop trying, Ruby was the one who inspired him to keep going. The moment he began to fall into that dark self-hating place, Ruby was always there brightening his day. She shared a laugh with him, she shared her tears with him and he in turn did the same.

Friends until the end. It was amazing how a bond that strong was born from a simple meeting….It just felt right.

"I really thought you were leaving me alone here".

"Pff. Have I ever let you down? Plus, I don't know why you were so scared".

"We are in a room full of people I've never seen in my life. What if I had to talk to one of them?!".

"So? You did that with me when we met and had no issue".

"Yeah, but you are special".

"Eh?...".

Jaune's face turned red and without noticing he started sweating a little. Special? He just called her special? Of course, she was special to him but up to that point, he had never outright said it. He began to panic a little, afraid that he had accidentally said something embarrassing.

Unbeknown to him, Ruby's mind did linger on that word for a moment. Special? He just called her special? What did that mean? What was is it special about her? Why did he think she was special? Special how?...Did she want him to think she was special? All questions that rushed Ruby's head as fast as a bullet train.

Jaune began to stutter "I-I mean. Not special…well, yeah, when I first saw you there was something special about…Well, no, I mean…".

Neither could hide their blushes and the two just wished the world ended right there and then to end the embarrassing conversation. They were never as relieved as the moment the white Nevermores hit them on the head again.

"ROSE! ARC! That's enough! The two of you should be ashamed", she had no idea how right she was. "You two are licensed huntsmen now and are here just behaving like children! Instead of acting like fools maybe you could make yourselves useful. Stand up and come down here".

Jaune and Ruby complied, still a bit uncomfortable with their heads down in shame. They stood in front of the class as Winter began to give them instructions.

"Ms. Rose, please lay on you back. Mr. Arc, please kneel next to her".

The two of them did as told. Having all those eyes staring at them just made the entire experience more and more awkward by the minute. But the moment Ruby laid on her back, she got a bit of a confidence boost since she couldn't really see the audience. This gave her an idea.

"Hey, Jaune. Are you scared?".

"I wanna die!".

"Come on. We have been through worse. Don't worry, just look at me and ignore the audience. Trust me".

Look at her? After what he said earlier? Even with his eyes closed, he felt embarrassed just being near her. But seeing the audience staring and judging him freaked him out more. Something that Ruby said gave him confidence though. She asked him to trust her and there was no one in the world he trusted more than her.

Jaune took his eyes away from the audience and centered them on Ruby…and nothing else mattered. She just kept smiling and humming and all his anxiety slowly banished. She then began to make funny faces and he couldn't help but chuckle a little. She truly was special to him.

"Ok, class. This is a demonstration of assisted artificial respiration. Mr. Arc if you may".

"Eh…yeah…assisted…yeah, I know what that is…".

"You…weren't paying attention at the classes, were you?".

"Of course, I was!...So I put my hands here and…".

Winter rubbed the bridge of her nose. "What you are doing is CPR and you have your hands wrong! Sigh. To perform assisted artificial respiration, you must first cover the patience's nose like this", Winter grabbed Jaune's hand and helped him pitch Ruby's nose.

"OW!".

"Ah! I'm sorry!".

"I'm just messing with you! Hahah".

"Aw, give me a break. Hehe".

Winter rolled her eyes at the goofiness of her students. "Take this seriously. Your friend is in mortal danger, Mr. Arc". Those words hit Jaune deeper than she could imagine, but it was everything he needed to stop playing and learn every skill he could to protect his loved ones.

"Now, grab her mouth like this". She put his hand on her face and slightly opened Ruby's mouth.

"Ok, then what?".

"Then you put your mouth against hers and blow".

"Right. I put my mouth against…hers…WAIT WHAT?!".

"HE IS GOING TO DO WHAT?!".

The audience burst in laughter and Winter just grew more annoyed. "You two are unbelievable. Assisted artificial respiration is better known as mouth-to-mouth resurrection. Your friend is not breathing and you must fill her lungs with air through her mouth".

" Yo-You can't be serious!".

"Well, no, this is a demonstration. You are not going to actually blow air into her. That would be dangerous. Just press your mouth against hers and…".

Ruby tried to stand up. "You know, maybe we can see a video on the internet! I'm sure if we ignore the kitty videos and the lets players, we can find someone doing…".

"Lay down! You are supposed to be unconscious!".

"Doesn't that make it worse?!".

"For the love of…. You are in a desperate situation, Arc! Rose just got attacked by a Grimm. She hit some rocks and now is not breathing. Every second that passes, her life in danger. It is up to you to do something or else she will die. What will you d…".

Before Winter could finish, the mere idea of losing Ruby had pushed Jaune to ignore everything in the world. He had to give it his all, he couldn't lose her, he was not going to lose her…so he did it.

Ruby's eyes showed her shock…his lips…and hers…Her mind went blank. Her heart just kept pounding faster and faster. What was happening? How did this happen? Jaune was her friend, her best friend. And here he was, with his lips against hers. She didn't know how to feel, she couldn't understand…but a part of her was enjoying it. She soon relaxed, slowly closed her eyes..and let herself go.

Jaune wasn't thinking. He got carried away by the scenario and just went for it. He even forgot to cover her nose. The only thing in his mind was trying to help Ruby…but at one moment, he realized what was happening. He had his eyes closed and let himself get trapped by the soft and sweet lips of his best friend. It felt odd. She was his best friend. She was special to him…maybe the most special person to him…He shouldn't have but he couldn't deny it, he was enjoying every single second of what was happening.

Jaune and Ruby stayed there for a few seconds that felt like hours and a part of them wished it was years. It was confusing, it was sweet…it just felt right.

Their closed eyes just showed the sweet joy they were feeling….yet something happened that shocked them back into reality. Their eyes got wide and they stared at each other. Jaune stood back is awe of what just had happened, while Ruby stood covering her mouth with both hands. Their eyes didn't disconnect from each other and the two blushed and shook nervously.

"Ru…" That was all Jaune could murmur, before Ruby's eyes became a bit teary and a vortex of rose petals rushed out the classroom at max speed.

"Wa-WAIT!".

"And then I ran here…". The little huntress finished her story, whimpering in shame and confusion as her friends stood around her chair focused on the story.

The first one to break the silence was her dear sister. "It's ok, Rubes. You didn't do anything wrong".

"Yang, my friendship with Jaune is over! How do you want me to see him in the eyes again?!".

Blake stepped in, "It wasn't a kiss though. He was just using a first-aid technique, it was part of the class, nothing else".

"Blake is right. Besides, just because your lips touched doesn't mean you can´t be friends anymore. Nothing bad happened" Weiss continued as she showed her support to her dear friend. The three gave her a soft smile as if saying "you poor thing" to their brave leader…poor poor girls, they weren't mentally prepared.

"There was tongue…".

"…."

"Guys?".

"JAUNE, I TRUSTED YOU!":

"I TOLD YOU! ALL MEN ARE PIGS!".

"YOU DID THAT IN FRONT OF MY SISTER!?".

All four girls had their own freakout. To say that dorm was in chaos was putting it slightly. But after a few seconds of constant screams, a chilling knock on the door sent goosebumps to their spines.

The knocks grew stronger and stronger until they were outright slams. And an aura of a powerful beast could be felt behind it.

"Oh, no…you don't think…".

Another slam made a dent on the thick metal door.

"Yang! You answer!".

"Blake! I thought we had something special!".

Another dent appeared.

Weiss shallowed as she built up courage. "Co-Come in!".

The door opened with enough impact to shake everything in the room. "One of you is coming with me…".

"Nora. We can talk about th…". Weiss tried to reason with the ragging berserker in her doorstep, but before she could finish, Nora put her on her shoulder and made her way out with the princess as her hostage.

"AHHH! HELP ME!".

"You will be missed, Weiss!".

"I'll dedicate my first book to you!".

"SCREW YOU, GUYS!".

Nora dragged Weiss to the gardens of Atlas Academy, sitting her on a bench.

"That was extremely unnecessary!".

"Shut it! Princess! You know why I brought you here!" Nora pointed at Weiss accusatorily…before wiggling her finger to play with her prisoner's nose.

Weiss shook her hands to get her off her, "St-Stop it!". She took a deep breath before addressing the matter. "So, you heard".

"Heard?! Jaune came in rushing like a bullet! I have never seen him so embarrassed in my life and I was there when he got a wedgie from an Ursa".

"Don't remind me, he was giving me flowers that day".

Nora certainly was upset but her demeanor didn't show anger. She was mainly frustrated with the whole situation and worried for her two friends. Jaune in particular…she wasn't sure how his heart would take it. "Seriously, of all ways for this to happen. You know how hard it was to get Jaune to smile again?!".

"Hey, don't look at me, I had nothing to do with this! Besides, if you are so worried about Jaune, why aren't you with him?".

Nora scoffed "Please! It's not like I left him alone. Ren and Oscar and keeping an eye on him".

"You left him with Ren and Oscar…".

"Yeah. Why?".

"I don't get it! Why you took your hand off her nose? Wouldn't the air come out from there?".

"She put her tongue in my mouth! Who cares about the first-aid technique, Oscar!?".

"But are you sure it was a kiss though? Many cultures have varied ways of greeting a friend or family. The customs in Patch might be more exotic than we think".

"Ren, just…Just give me another tea…".

"This really isn't his day, is it?".

"Would you take this seriously?!" Nora was growing ever more frustrated by the time and Weiss began to notice this situation had her unusually nervous.

"Nora. Calm down. This isn't that big of a deal. I'm sure they can makeup, they are inseparable". Weiss reassured her.

Nora sat next to her, letting herself fall as if her worries were weighing her down. "It's just… You don't understand. When we traveled to Haven, I had to see Jaune and Ruby get eaten by their own regrets. Ruby had nightmares every night. Jaune barely slept". Nora took a deep breath, the memories of that road trip with team RJNR were as sweet as they were sorrowful. "Jaune's heart…it took him so long to start to heal. It made me so happy seeing him goof around and have a smile again after so long. But you know who managed to bring joy to him before he began to stand up on his own again? Little Ruby Rose".

Weiss was beginning to understand where Nora was coming from, "You are afraid they'll drift apart over this?".

"Ruby worked so hard to take his mind off…what happened. But every time she gave him joy, something else happened that pushed him back into that pit and every time that happened Ruby fell back into hers. I knew she regretted bringing us in that trip, I knew she felt guilty and was hurting just as, if not more than the rest of us. But I didn't know how to tell her everything would be ok…But you know who did?".

"Hehe. Of course, I do. Even before the Fall, Jaune and Ruby always knew what to say to each other". Weiss chuckled just remembering those good old days when all her family, her true family just spent time simply enjoying each other's company at Beacon.

"Yes, I am very afraid they'll drift apart. They are great for each other, Weiss! That's why I brought you here, I need your help".

Weiss was a bit surprised by her words. "Wait…You mean…you want them to be together?".

"They bring the best on each other and are happier when the other is around. Let me tell you a little story. We swore to never tell you guys…but I already told Yang so…".

Weiss rolled her eyes, just thinking that of course, Nora did.

"There was this one night we were setting our camp. We were getting everything ready when Jaune noticed his sleeping bag was full of ants. He started swinging it around but the thing was completely covered. Jaune didn't have anywhere to sleep…so."

"No! They did not!".

"Yep. Ruby told him they could share hers".

"Why didn't he share it with Ren?".

"Because I'm an amazing matchmaker, that's why! They ended up spooning each other that night!".

"Ruby was the big spoon, wasn't she?".

"It's called a jetpack".

"Ren is a little spoon too, noted".

"Every night was another nightmare, another sleepless night that just ate them from inside…but that night…that night they sleep so peacefully. Ren and I couldn't believe it. That was the one night they had a deep sleep…and it was while one was embracing the other".

Weiss understood completely. Ruby and Jaune were in a panic for the same reason, it wasn't just embarrassment. They were special to each other and just like Nora, what scared them the most was losing that bond due to a silly mistake…if only they could see it. "Are you sure they like each other?".

"Come on! I've been dealing with Jaune's love life since day 1 at Beacon. Trust me, they are head over heels for each other!".

"Then what's the big deal? They are not going to drift apart; all they need to do is be open with one another".

Nora launched herself at Weiss and put her face uncomfortably close to the snow princess' "As if it was that easy! You have done it before, haven't you? That fear of making things awkward by saying the wrong thing. If you care too much for someone, screwing things up would be as painful as tabbing your hand! Just spitting your feelings is not as easy as…".

"I never said it was easy, but if that person matters that much to you, you have to be honest to them and to yourself.".

"It's more complicated that…".

"I…feel we aren't talking about Jaune and Ruby anymore….".

Nora sat back down, her gaze drifting to the distance, "…It's hard to tell the person you love how much you love them…and there is always that fear that they won't say it back…".

Weiss delicately put her hand on Nora's shoulder who turned to see her reassuring smile. "You know what I love about you and Ren? You show your love to each other. Even in the smallest moments, Ren is always showing how much he cares about you. Give him time, someday he might find the courage to say it, but until then remember that actions speak way louder…and Ren does love you".

Nora became a bit teary-eyed, but she wasn't going to let the ice queen win, "Stop it. Hehe. Sniff. This isn't about me".

"Nora…you have to be open with Ren if this worries you so much. Hell, you would all be happier if you were more….That's it" Weiss stood up revitalized and with a plan in mind. "I know what to do".

"RUBY STOP!"

"I'll drink my pain away! I LEARNED FROM THE BEST!"

"I doubt Qrow was passing out on milk…".

"GIVE ME THE BOTTLE! YOU HAD ENOUGH!".

"NO! LET ME GO! YANG!".

"What the…" Weiss entered the room, amazed at the bizarre scene. Of course, this wasn't the weirdest thing she had found her teammates doing in their dorm by a long shot…which really is saying something.

"Weiss! Do something!". Ruby pleaded but Weiss planted her palm on her face.

"For the love of, Ok! Listen up! All of you!". Maybe in another life, Weiss would have done for an excellent general, because as soon as she spoke, all her teammates stood with attention. "We have exactly an hour to have Ruby ready".

"For what?" Ruby said concerned but Weiss was done with everyone's nonsense.

"Quiet! Yang, take her to the shower; she reeks of milk".

"On it!".

"Wa-WAIT! AHH!" Ruby continued complaining but Yang just carried her as if made of cardboard.

"Blake, help me find her an outfit. Nothing too formal but what I would call 'casual elegance', and no heels! I cannot put her under more stress".

"I think I got an idea, but…Weiss, what's going on?".

Weiss gave her a confident smile, the one she usually got when all her chess pieces fell into place. "Tonight, everything changes. For everyone".

Night fell and the gardens of Atlas Academy lite up with gorgeous lamps that displayed the snow lowly and softly falling on the bushes and trees. The sound of the running water of a fountain was a sweet melody that brought attention to its beautiful depiction of two huntsmen standing side by side against all adversity.

"Weiss, this is insane! Please let me go back to my bed".

"And run and hide for the rest of your life? Not a chance, you are braver than that, besides, you look so pretty!" Weiss said while fixing Ruby's clothes and hair, she wasn't going to let her be messy this night, but of course, she knew her best friend far too well, she wasn't going to put her in a dress she would be too embarrassed to wear, but between the skirt and one of Blake's shirts, Ruby looked comfortable and pretty, the exact balance Weiss was looking for.

"Weiss, I don't want to see him. It makes me nervous just thinking how Ill mess this u…".

"You won't! Ruby, you care a lot about Jaune and he cares so much for you. I get it, you guys did something embarrassing, who cares?! That doesn't change anything between you. But you have to talk about it".

"But…what if…".

Weiss hugged her tightly, she was there for her and she wanted to show it. "You know how you feel about him. But Ruby, you have to be honest with yourself. I know it is scary, but it's a leap of faith you must take".

"But…what should I say…?".

"The truth. All of it. Let your heart go wild. Be honest and I'm sure he'll be honest with you too. You are special to him, I'm sure of it".

Ruby hugged her even tighter, she needed those arms she could rely on more than anything at that moment.

"Besides, if he rejects you, I'll push him off Atlas".

"Hahaha. No, you wouldn't".

"There is a reason we are doing this outdoors, hehe".

The two separated a little, giving each other a loving smile, "You got this, Ruby. Just be honest with yourself".

"Thank you".

With those words, Ruby turned around and walked off to the meeting spot. Her legs were shaking, but with all the support Weiss gave her, how couldn't she try?

The snow kept falling but Ruby didn't know if her shivers were of cold or excitement or both. She had so many things in her mind, what she was going to say, what she was going to do…how did she actually felt? The more she reflected the more she kept wondering what she feared the most, for Jaune to not have feelings for her or him having them and her hurting him. He was her best friend, he was family…but…was he also…

Her feet stopped as soon as she noticed the figure of her tall friend. Jaune was rather nervous himself. Nora had made him take off his armor and go out mainly wearing his jacket, but somehow this made him feel vulnerable.

"But, Nora…".

"No buts!" her voice came from his scroll, "You are doing this and is final! Plus, you look so handsome!".

"You are sounding like my mom…".

"Yeah, talk about your mom. A great conversation starter, big guy".

"Star.." Jaune turned around and immediately froze seeing Ruby standing behind him.

"Good luck!" with that final message, Nora ended the call and Jaune and Ruby found themselves alone.

"..hey…".

"….hey".

"This feels wrong, why are we spying?".

"Oscar, sweetie, you need to learn to listen to big sis Nora!"

"Shhhh! It's starting!".

The entire team hid behind the bushes, ready to listen to their leaders. They were all wondering how things would go, but Weiss just had one wish, for the two to open their hearts.

The awkward silence was as cold as the snow. Jaune and Ruby had decided to share a bench. For a minute, all their conversation was silence followed by a few "hey"s and "so"s…but at least they were trying.

Jaune began to wonder how did he end up in this situation. How after everything they had been through, an awkward kiss had changed the way he acted around Ruby. It was always so natural to talk to her. From the start, he never had fear or anxiety talking to her. It was always so easy….then why was it different this time? He made a mistake, but this was still Ruby. She was the most amazing person he knew, she was kind, brave, strong, funny...beautiful. She was special…so why should this be different from normal?

"R-Ruby…" She was surprised to see him force those words out. He did his best to put himself together. "Ruby, I'm so sorry!". She was shocked, but at this point, he couldn't stop. "I-I didn't mean to…kiss you. I wouldn't steal a kiss from you, no, no, no! I don't mean from you; I mean from anyone. Not that I want to kiss other people besides you...wait! No, that's not what I…"

"I'm sorry too!" To Jaune's surprise, Ruby had jumped in as well "It was my fault! If I had paid attention to the class or…or…I didn't mean to….I didn't mean to put my tongue in your mouth!".

"IT WAS HER?!".

"I owe Jaune an apology".

"Oh, so is not a custom in Patch?".

"What?! No!".

"It was my fault! I shouldn't have asked you to go on that class in the first place!".

"I shouldn't have made Winter mad! How was I supposed to know she was a big Weiss?!".

"…Why did I help those two…?".

"Look, it doesn't matter".

"Right! What matters is…".

"IM SORRY!" The two said at the same time, surprising the other. Ruby and Jaune sat there with a look of shock, staring into each other's eyes.

Silence had returned, but this time it wasn't as awkward. That small outburst felt liberating. It was as if a big weight had been lifted from their shoulders. The two still had ashamed faces, but looking at each other, the two couldn't help but to crack a laugh at their situation.

"Hahahahah".

"Hahahahahah!".

They laughed as hard as they could, barely being able to compose themselves.

"What are we doing?". Ruby asked, resting her hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"I guess…I guess we are being dumb". He responded with a soft smile on his face.

"Yeah. Big time. Hehe…Look, it was a silly mistake".

"Yeah…To be honest, I was really afraid. I just…I didn't want you to hate me. You are my best friend, Ruby".

She punched his arm lovely, "I would never hate you, silly. I actually thought you hated me. I mean I did take advantage of you…".

"You are right! I should report you! Or worst… I'm telling your sister!".

"Ha! Too slow as always! I already did!"

"Really?! How did she take it?".

"Dad is gonna kill me!".

"Surprisingly well".

The laughs kept coming as the two did what they did best, enjoy each other's company and bring in joy in one another.

Ruby paused, she started to wonder just how open she could be with him. He was her best friend. They had shared many things, especially in their darkest moments. She decided to test the waters, but might have overdone it a little, "If I'm honest…I was afraid I would hurt you".

"What do you mean?".

"…You told me…about your first kiss and…I was afraid you'll get hurt ag…".

"You could never hurt me" He stopped her. "Ruby…Yeah, I have some memories that pain me to this day. But those aren't the ones I treasure. Do you know which I do? The ones that make me happy and you happen to be in plenty of them". He caressed her hair lovely, something that made her skip a beat. "I do miss Pyrrha…but, not long ago, I realized that I couldn't continue hurting myself, especially because I was hurting the people I love. Ren, Nora, Oscar, Weiss, Blake, Yang…and You. I would never have made it to where I am if not for you. You could never hurt me because you make me stronger, Ruby".

Ruby smiled at him, her eyes tearing up a bit. Jaune was special to her, she now saw it clearly. Being a part of his life and him being a part of hers brought her so much joy.

"You really are a dummy, aren't you? Hehe".

"Oh, come on! I'm pouring out my heart here!".

"But it was so cheesy!".

"Well, yeah, but…".

"I'm messing with you…I happen to like cheese".

"Gods they are adorable and lame".

"I think it is sweet".

"….Ren….did you just….".

The awkward tension had banished. It was as if it had never been there. They were back to normal, joyful, playful…simply happy about being together.

The snow was starting to grow a bit stronger. Ruby was grateful for Blake lending her clothes, but her taste in shirts wasn't really wintery. She began to rub her arms and shiver.

As the silence continued, Ruby kept on thinking how relieved she felt, how she was able to be honest with the way she felt and Jaune returned that honesty. But a part of her was also glad this was all over and everything could go back to norm…

"Here. It's getting a bit cold…".

She was stunned. She felt it in slow motion, how the fabric of his jacket covered her skin. A look of shock was all she could give in return. She stared at him while he just sat there next to her, only a shirt on and a bright and warm smile.

"Maybe we should get back in. Come on. I think they have hot chocolate in the cafeteria". He stood up cheerfully and began to walk away. But Ruby didn't follow…she stayed seated.

"Uh…Ruby?".

"I enjoyed it".

His eyes got wide and his heart skipped a beat, but Ruby had finally made her mind. She was not going to be silent; she was going to be honest with herself, she was going to be honest with her feelings and honest with him.

"I enjoyed it, ok? It felt…I felt like I wanted it to last forever. I don't understand it yet but I do know that I enjoyed it and not just the kiss!" She stood up looking at him straight in the eyes. "I was so happy when you said I was special to you. Because YOU are special to me! I care about you and have done it for a long long time but I knew how much you were hurting; I knew all the pain you were going through and it killed me that I couldn't just take that pain away!".

Jaune was paralyzed on his spot. His heart rising with every word.

"It's embarrassing! It's weird! It's frustrating but I don't care!" Ruby began to rant and clench her fist in frustration and determination. "Weiss is right! Hiding your feelings isn't fair to yourself. Sometimes you might want to protect and respect someone, others you just can't put your feelings into words, but you should always be honest to yourself! Be honest with your feelings! Be honest with who you are, what you want, how sad you are, and how much joy you have in your heart when you see someone you love smile!

Weiss, looked attentively, she was worried but more than anything, she was proud. "Be honest, Ruby". She said with a soft smile.

"When you care about someone, that person is special to you. If you love them that much why wouldn't you be honest with them!? Why would you hide your doubts and fear from that person who is always there, with whom you share something so beautiful and special?!. Be honest! Be honest with your own feelings and be honest with that person you love! It's hard, it's scary but ARENT THEY WORTH IT?! You love them for a reason! BE HONEST!".

She didn't realize it, but those words hit hard to more people than she thought. Yang and Blake had been through many things together and still had a long way to go, but there was something clear to everyone, they cared for each other and their bond had been tempered in fire, it was stronger than steel. Yang grabbed Blake's hand, she was surprised, but the smile they shared gave the two of them warm.

Ren had never been good at expressing his feelings. He always kept them hidden, is not that he didn't have them nor that he didn't want to let them out, it was simply difficult to put his love into words. Nora knew this, it pained her but she was certain he loved her just as much as she loved him. Ren was never good at talking, but he always showed how much he loved her, still, his heart was pained and worried and Nora was determined. She knew how much she loved him and she was going to be there for him. Someday, somehow, she would get through him, she would help him be honest with himself…and until then, she was going to stand by his side, giving him all her love. To her surprise, even in these moments of uncertainty, Ren held her hand, he looked ashamed, he knew he had too much in his mind and didn't know how to say it, but Nora understood the gesture, a soft touch that said "You are special to me". She smiled and leaned on him, not a word was said and at the same time, they said it all.

"That's why….that's why I'll be honest wit h you!...I did enjoy it…because you are special to me…because I…I…".

"I couldn't sleep!" Jaune said, stopping and surprising Ruby. "That night in Argus! When we were split. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, Nora had to make me drink water! I was so worried about something happening to you! To all of you but especially you! I was terrified of losing you, Ruby!". She began to get tears in her eyes. "I did enjoy it but it wasn't meant to be a kiss! I was afraid! I let myself go by what Winter said. The idea of you getting hurt…I CAN'T BARE IT! Ruby you aren't only special to me, you are the most special person in my life! I've known for a long time, I just….I had so much hatred for myself…A part of me refused to be happy...but you were always there bringing me joy even in my darkest times…You were always there…you are always there and I want you to be there and I will be there for you! From the moment I met you I wanted to walk beside you, I just never realized just how much I want to be with you!".

The two stopped and began to breathe faster and faster. Exasperated….but somehow also relieved. They were there bringing out everything filling their hearts. They were being honest with the most important person in their lives.

"….Go out with me…" Ruby said, breaking the silence with a shy voice. "I want to be with you too…so…". Before she could realize it, her head was already down, hiding her face from the embarrassment and had grabbed her hands and pressed them on her chest as if holding her heart. "I know is silly….but…".

"Yes". And with one word, Ruby's head rushed back up, meeting Jaune's eyes. The two connected with a simple gaze. "Yes…of course, I will…".

They had shown the contents of their hearts…and the love was mutual and strong. Ruby and Jaune changed their shocked looks for joyful smiles as the two of them realized what happened. They were honest with themselves….and it just felt right.

"Jaune…".

"Ruby….".

The two got closer. Their bodies moved on their own. Without a moment to waste, Jaune caressed Ruby's face and the two got closer and closer and closer…

"MY BABY SISSSSS!".

"YANG?!"

"AHHHHH!".

And with that, Yang had exposed all of their friends hiding in the bushes. Jaune and Ruby had their jaws on the floor.

"Damnit, YANG! It was so close!" Weiss yelled in frustration.

"I've been waiting for this for SO LONG!" Nora worked so hard for months and now, she got robbed.

"I couldn't help it! It was so beautiful! Right Blake?".

"It was so cute!".

"Good job, Jaune. I was really moved". Ren smiled while giving a thumbs up.

"I'm so happy for you guys!". Oscar cheered.

Jaune and Ruby turned red. All those embarrassing things and their friends heard every single word. Had the world ended right there, they wouldn't have had any regrets…well, maybe just one regret.

"We have to celebrate!".

"Can it be inside? It's freezing here!".

As their friends all walked away, they followed behind, discreetly walking right beside each other. After all, they had promised to stay by each other's side…always.

Ruby sneakily grabbed Jaune's hand, caressing it tenderly with her thumb.

"Don't think you'll escape".

"Hehe. I wasn't planning to".

"You know…you do owe me".

"What?".

"Yeah. Apparently, my first kiss wasn't a real kiss after all…".

Jaune began to rub the back of his neck. "Haha…yeah…But I…can make it up to you lat…".

He didn't notice but she had a keener eye, as soon as she noticed their friends had gone a bit farther away, she took the chance and stole a sweet and lovely kiss.

"You know what? I enjoyed this one more" Ruby winked with a smile and blush before running back to her friends.

Jaune stood there but the sight of his special girl with a big smile brought nothing but joy to his heart. That warm love….it just felt right.

"Hey wait up! That's not fair!".

"Come and catch me if you want another!".

"Ruby!".

________________________________________________________________

Fan fiction for the 9 days of Lancaster 2020!

This is honestly my first time writting romance but lancaster is worth it!

Prompts: Regret / Apology

@9dayshandler

#rwby #lancaster #ruby rose #jaune arc #fanfic #9daysoflan2020 #jaune x ruby #ruby x jaune

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arkus-rhapsode · 5 years

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Rhapsode Reacts: RWBY Volume 3

Hey guys, Rhapsode here. So I’ve been on the record numerous times saying I haven’t watched the internet series RWBY. I haven’t. However, I have a rather close mutual @remnantoforario who tells me about most of the series and characters. Seriously, I basically have experienced the plot through osmosis. Now me and remnant work on a lot of fanfiction stuff and general discussions of video games and manga. And highly suggest anyone who wants a more in depth look at RWBY to please check him out. He’s great.

Now due to the fact he has basically told me the series up this point, its kinda been a bit frustrating when I forget something and ask him to reiterate. So I decided to knuckle down and watch some of the series.

I helped remnant get a non RWBY fan opinion, by basically live-blogging him in our PMs. And I thought I had some level of humorous reactions and Remnant had some witty observations to my reactions.

Anyway, if you didn’t catch it the first time, I must repeat, I’m not coming at this from the perspective of a fan. I have very little emotional or personal enjoyment going in the series up to this point. If I say something that offends you as a fan, I’m sorry in advance.

With that out of the way, let’s dive in:

Oh that’s a sweet scene of Ruby at her mother’s grave.

Why would you start Team RWBY’s preliminary fight in the middle of it?

the Vytal Festival feels like it should be reversed: you should start with 1, then go to 2, then for your finals, 4. Or just do a solid 4 v 4 all tournament

Remnantoforario: I dont know what the purpose of the tournament is, or why anyone would want to participate. There is no prize

Me: Bragging rights I guess. But the whole point of the festival is to celebrate peace. Lets celebrate piece with a bunch of kids beating each other up .

Ruby has a line of "we did it?" like she was surprised. Was that a concern?

Like I understand the festival has been built up since the second volume, but there's a reason most good tournament arcs ease you into the first round. Its to reaffirm character motivation and actually show you what a fight would look like

I do appreciate some of the “show don't tell” moments like the one girl using a heat crystal in her skate board to free her teammate

But usually even if the first round is jobbers, they're at least presented as a threat. I never really got that. The tide seemed more and Rwby's favor, but I can't tell if that was always the case because we started in the middle of the fight

the pacing just feels like you can't handle the story, so it wants to get to the fight scenes to keep your attention

Emerald is actually really funny, holy shit

“How can they be so happy?” And “It’s the heiress and the bimbo”

Still Weiss and Yang, better savor this duo while I can

Neo’s gothic Lolita is cute. Though I feel like their match should’ve gotten a focus

Like I mean not an episode but if they started with the instant eliminations of 1v1, I could easily see this cool intro of Rwby has met Emerald, Mercury, and Cinder, but then is shocked at who this fourth member even is

OK I feel like the scene with Rwby and JNPR should’ve happened before the first round. Given Nora’s rant would actually tie to Ruby’s whole “we won?” Surprise

“Cinder: Even if you know how the story ends that doesn’t make it any less fun to watch.” I’d agree with you if you know the story wasn’t Rwby. And it’s not really that fun to watch a bunch of fighting with no weight.

OK team JNPR vs team BRNZ is actually a much better introduction to the tournament than Rwby vs Abrn

We actually see how the field is chosen and we actually get some genuine strategy and coordination. And before all this we actually get some motivation about how the characters feel going into this battle

Me: OK why are these not the protagonists and why was this not episode one?

Remnantoforario: questions for the writers

I got admit I’m not very much of a fan of melee weapons that also turn into guns and just kind of makes the purpose of melee fighters and ranged fighters pointless

Logically it makes sense that if you’re making a weapon you do want it to have multiple functionality but at the same time it kind of makes a lot of that fighting less fun

I mean what do you want to see more a team complete each other or just one person who can just do everything with the right weapon?

Ehh OK the team meeting joke is running a tad too long

Okay, that was what I was mentioning before... Just cut out Nora with missiles. I feels more like a give and take as well as more unique to have that moment with her slamming on the ground

“Crow Bar.” Oh you go to the corner for that pun.

OK that joke with Weiss and telling Indigo to beat up Neptune was timed and delivered really bad

Also port makes a point that Sun is from Vacuo. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the leader or any membr of Indigo actually did know Sun from Vacuo?

I say that because no member of team Indigo has said anything, and it would at least add something unique to this fight

OK I have to bring up the weird use of western cartoon comedy

Neptune running up the mountain it’s super speed is kind of funny but this is also a fight I’m supposed to take seriously

Nora and Ruby kind of get away with it given their powers but Neptune just ran up a mountain like it was nothing

What is the tone here?

Sage went out like a bitch

you know if you wanted to eliminate someone to make me feel for this team being in trouble why didn’t you just eliminate Neptune?

OK scarlet’s scene actually really works

That nut joke didn’t. Again, tone?

Me: Why would you sacrifice the two characters we don’t know anything about just to do Neptunes stupid joke?

Remnant: COMEDY

OK this fight was bad

Me: I get the idea indigo was a bunch of jobbers so you decided to play the comedy angle. OK, well then tone down the serious rock music, turn down the cartoon physics

Remnant: For reference. That was a post Monty fight

I agree with Qrow, that was a mess

okay introduction to Winter is pretty good. Shame we don't really get that "Novice victory" vibe from their fight. Maybe if it last for more than 8 minutes and didn't start from the middle...

okay see, I don't mid Winter and Qrow having a fight in the middle of the square as it helps serve as an introduction to the characters and flexes their strength

though Im also starting to notice something else that bugs me in the fights, no banter or introspection or comments

its just fight moves

like there's times that's god, DBZ did it tons of times when its just Goku making "Hiyah" noises but there was still a bit of time to get in a line that both broke up the action and highlighted how two characters felt or through thought was able to give us a peek into their head

watching rwby fights makes me think, "This be better as a video game"

so... does no woman in this world wear a bra?

Ironwood: “If you were one of my men, I'd have you shot!”

Okay, that can't be legal

Ironwood is kinda becoming my favorite character

He's a flawed human being, and the narrative shows that, but it also shows he has a point

Okay, yeah I see what you mean, all this Fall stuff is happening in the background which is nice, but there's no real plot with the tournament

Okay Mercury and Emerald vs Coco and Yatsuhashi is actually really good

not much character, but its actually more intimidating seeing how strong these two are. Wish the music had a bit more ambiance

Okay, that's an interesting plot point. Qrow explaining how beating one high profile criminal hasn't stopped crime. And the fact there is zero crime is concerning and relating it back to Ironwood

Wow, its almost when you just slow down and lt characters breath and talk to each other and have them be characters without shoving in a fight scene, its pretty good

Why is team Cardin fighting a non faunus team? Feels like a waste of characters

disappointing that Ciel doesn't know Penny is a robot

mainly because the way its queued up with Ciel seemed like she was only spending time with Penny because ordered and her attention to the schedule makes it seem like she is a soldier just having to play dress up for the robot to make it comfortable

Me: Wow Weiss's heels... Never noticed them. I just thought they were boots

Remnant: Nope heels

Also Neon and Flynt actually have a pretty good intro

We know what Atlas is like seeing Winter and Ironwood, so Neon and Flynt make an interesting and immediate contrast

And it feels like there is something riding on our opponents side given Flynts history with the Schnee. Which makes him stand out from the other jobbers

And Neon's intentionally irritating personality actually is more character displayed by any other opponent character

I actually really like the OST in the fight too. This might be my favorite action scene

Flynt actually has a really cool semblance too

oh wow, some actual dread with Weiss getting eliminated

Imma let you get away with that Hulk reference Port

I like how Yang beat Flynt, but if I was gonna beat Neon, I'd have Yang punch the ground and through her off balance

Haha Ironwood doesn't have a heart, I get it, he's tin man

least they didn't go with Ozpin saying Qrow doesn't have a brain

Me: So... If Pyrrha is all these things, why aren't we following her team?

So abridged version of the four seasons story Four random chicks find a guy camped out in his house, be nice to him and he gives them super powers. If I were a kid being told that, I’d demand another story

Pyrrha: like a semblance?

Oz: Like magic!

Me: Like a semblance

Qrow is right, this selection is stupid

You’re keeping a woman in your basement in cryogenic suspension. Oz you and Rhea need to share notes

Oh god... Adam. You can’t act

Adam seems already psychopathic Or maybe that’s just his acting

So this is the famous Yang punching Mercury... It works I guess

Actually getting a chance to see some Jaune and Pyrrha moments in v3 and it’s good

Me: Velvet is British? Huh... never predicted that

Remnant: Australian

How can Ruby notice Emerald all the way across the arena? Actually wait she’s the only one not in a black uniform

Why did they leave Mercury behind where anyone could find him?

And Penny is dead and I do not care at this point

Cinder’s little speech is the first time I’m actually feeling like I’m getting a villain motivation out of her

She talks about how Oz and the headmasters are just men capable of making mistakes But she’s someone who would embrace and all powerful godly being. Though that seems and odds with the presumed motive that she’s working with Salem to potentially kill the brother gods

Okay, Blake and Weiss have a pretty good scene when all hell was breaking loose

Ruby versus the big ass bird was actually pretty cool and the scene of everyone’s lockers being what puts it down is really clever

Oh really cool scene of Port and Oobleck. Hey the fall is turning out pretty decent

Ironwood killing the wolf was pretty good

Roman is a breath of fresh air as a villain. And it’s namely his acting

You know I feel like you could let the more tertiary characters fight the robots while Weiss and Blake fight WF

OK I repeat this is just become a video game. Giant dragon that spawns mini monsters in a destroyed town

The spectacle fighting actually really works when your opponents are mindless and faceless brutes

You have Adam in a school full of terrified people, why aren’t you showing his nuance by showing he won’t hurt Faunus staff and is giving them an out?

Velvet’s scene be cool if it was powers she was mimicking. Looking at a lot of weapons really doesn’t do much for me.

That said, this could work if she ended up copying the mech and fighting against it

Okay I feel like Weiss finally being able to summon something should’ve been done with a lot more gravitas

And Sun proceeds to be the best male character

Neo is fucking beast. Y’know what, let her be final boss

Now I just have this image of Neo flying through the air with a sign reading “I’m Mary Poppins, Y’all”

Wow, Roman went out like a bitch

Like zero build up just dead. And his replacement is Adam... There is no justice

Ironwood: someone has done the unthinkable and taken control of my machines!

Watts: What? Like it’s hard?

Blake and Yang holding hands on the ground after Yang lost an arm. Yeah that’s pretty shippy

Also, I feel like the animation really limits a lot of the characters expressions. Like the time Ruby spent dwelling on her sister being mutilated is well timed. But usually a lot of the emotional devastation comes down to the expression.

a lot of faces seem stiff in transition expressions. Or they have this doll like quality

The most expressive person seems to be Emerald

Pyrrha and Jaune’s kiss is actually really tender

Me: Okay how the hell is Cinder’s dress still managing to cover her loins?

Remnant: maiden magic.

And Pyrrha died

Are you done with the whole line of do you believe in destiny was fine Personally I would’ve also accepted the Ted Kord response, Rot in Hell.

Ruby went super saiyan

Tai being the first person Ruby sees is nice

Yang’s bitterness works here. Though given how I wasn’t feeling too much of the sisterly bond between the two, it’s probably not as hard hitting as they wanted

Salem’s introduction isn’t bad

so after watching V3. my final opinion is meh

Strikes me as they wanted to the fall, and the tournament was just a lot of window dressing. Because the stuff with the Fall is the best part, but everything else has felt dull and fillery.

Maybe I’ll do this for the next season of a series I binge. But till next time, take care.

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misstrashchan · 5 years

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The Man With Two Souls, Pt. 2

Okay, so this ended up being a fucking long part 2 to my previous meta post. There was a lot I wanted to get down, and if it doesn't make sense or you don't agree with it, that's fine, I'd just be happy if you read it. Now I can rest until the finale comes and beats me up.

So, there's a few more Salem and Adam parallels to start off with like

(8) Having the same reaction to hearing someone mention Blake and Oz and the possibility of them getting the upper hand against them

(9) Chronologically after this happens (we see Adam destroy the throne room in Volume 6 episode 2, but we see him lose his mask at the end of the Adam trailer) deciding to go after Blake on his own while Salem creates the winged Beringel grimm and plans to go to Atlas herself, presumably to go after Oscar/Ozpin so he doesn't get in the way of her plans (as well as Ruby since she clearly needs her as well)

"If you want something done right, you do it yourself" - Volume 6 Chapter 13

(10) Adam and Salem telling Blake and Oz about how they're going to destroy them and those around them

"The ability to derive strength from hope is undoubtedly mankind's greatest attribute. Which is why I will focus all of my effort to snuff it out. How does it feel? Knowing that all your time and effort has been for nothing. That your guardians have failed you. That everything you've built will be torn down before your very eyes."

"So you send your guardians, your huntsman and huntresses. And when they fail and you turn to your smaller soul, know that you send her to the same pitiful demise. This is the beginning of the end, Ozpin. And I can't wait to watch you burn." - Salem, Volume 3 Chapter 12

"What you want is impossible! But I understand. Because all I want is you, Blake. And as I set out and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love. Starting with her." - Adam, Volume 3 Chapter 11

(11) Salem and Adam's perception of Oz and Blake affecting their perspective of themselves... and the audience.

Okay, this one's honestly kind of weird. For so, so long there were a lot of people who bought into the idea that Ozpin was secretly evil or somehow worse than Salem, or that he'd done something terrible and unforgivable to Salem. I fully admit, I was one of those people. I mean, I didn't think he was evil, but the way Salem talked to him at the end of volume 3, listening to the song Divide, I thought, he must have done something bad to Salem, right? How could she hate him so much otherwise?

And the worst thing he did... was leave her. When he couldn't go along with being a genocidal dictator of the whole world alongside Salem, and didn't want their children to be a part of that either.

And as for Adam, he tells Blake that she hurt him more than anybody because she left him.

"All sorts of people hurt me in all sorts of different ways. But no one hurt me quite like you, Blake. You didn't leave scars. You just left me alone." - Adam, Volume 6 Chapter 12

And Salem would also have been hurt from Ozma trying to leave her. Especially when you think about her backstory, how she was kept isolated in a tower, and instead of finding freedom in the outside world, found it in Ozma. And then he died, and she was alone again. And then the Gods destroyed humanity, and Salem is left alone one again for god knows how long.

"Once again, Salem was alone." - Volume 6 Chapter 3

And weirdly, similar to Ozpin there were people who bought into Adam's false perception of Blake too. That Blake is somehow the one who hurt Adam more than he hurt her (which is, completely insane).

And Salem and Adam want Oz and Blake to feel that way. To be paralyzed with self hatred and doubt, to be stuck in the past, and feel as if everything is their fault. That Salem and Adam are their responsibility, at first to save them, and then to stop them.

You see it with Adam's gaslighting, trying to paint her as an unfaithful coward. And I mean, just listen to the song Divide. The whole song is Salem trying to make out Ozpin to be the villain, that she's killing people but the real murderer is him for trying to give people hope, even if it was hope based on a desperate lie.

"It was you who ended their lives! Made them to dig their own graves! With your dark, sick, cruel design, convinced them their world could be saved." - Divide

And there were a lot of people convinced by Salem's song Divide that Ozpin was far worse than he really was, to the point it was surprising that he hadn't wronged Salem in some way like most people were expecting.

And Adam tries to make Blake believe that she's a coward, that she's selfish and weak, that running away from her problems is all she knows how to do.

And for a long while, Blake believed he was right. That she was toxic to the people around her, that she made things worse for them. And there were some people in the fandom who thought that she really was this toxic person.

It's actually kind of scary, but Salem and Adam managed to manipulate not only Blake and Oz's perception of themselves, but also the audience as well in how they saw them.

I don't doubt for a moment this is going to extend to Oscar as well if she meets him, that she'll likely try to convince him that he's just Ozpin and that he, Oscar, doesn't matter, and he'll fail and make the same mistakes as their past lives. Which undoubtedly parts of the fandom are going to take Salem's false perception of Oscar to heart as well and believe her.

Which brings me to move on from Blake's parallels with her first "soul" and Ozpin, to her second "soul" and Oscar.

Now Blake alluding to the Man with Two Souls is metaphorical, while in Oscar's case it's very literal, and it's no coincidence she's the one who first introduces us to the concept to us with the book she's reading during the Shining Beacon.

"...It's about a man with two souls. Each fighting for control over his body"

(It's important to note that the conflict between the two souls is not one of Good vs Evil)

Blake's conflict of her two metaphorical souls fighting for control, is the false perception Adam had of Blake and who she used to be with him, her past that she can't escape, and the struggle for her smaller, more honest soul, trying to define herself and decide who she wants to be. And for Oscar, he's struggling to define himself and decide who he wants to be, because of the merge with Ozpin, and that his past will become Oscar's too.

Both of them want to do the right thing and rise to their challenges, but it seems like such an impossible task to them that they're afraid to meet it.

"I'm... scared. I'm more scared than I've ever been. Than I ever thought was possible. I always knew I wanted to be more than a farmhand. But this? Who would ask for this?" - Oscar, Volume 5 Chapter 5

"I joined the Academy because I knew that Huntsman and Huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the Academy what will I... How can I undo so many years of hate?" - Blake, Volume 2, Chapter 10

But the person who sees Blake's "other soul" the person she's truly capable of being, who she really is, even when she can't herself, is Yang.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out. You're not one to back down from a challenge Blake." - Yang, Volume 2 Chapter 10

And the one who sees Oscar and who he's capable of being even when he can't himself, is Ruby.

"Hey Oscar? I know this isn't going to be easy. But the fact that you're trying says a lot about you. You're braver than you think." - Ruby, Volume 5 Chapter 5

Blake and Oscar are also the first people we see Yang and Ruby open up to about their past trauma. The difference between the two being that in the Burning the Candle scene Yang is more willing to be vulnerable around Blake, to let her guard down and open up to her about her abandonment issues and how they've affected her.

Because as a more emotionally mature character she understands she needs to do that in order to properly relate to Blake so she can offer her support. She gets frustrated however when Blake still refuses her support, and so she has to give her a push to accept it.

Ruby, however, isn't as emotionally mature as Yang, and doesn't find it easy to let down her guard and talk about her emotions. Her mentality being described as "I don't have time for my emotions, I've got to make sure everybody else is okay" - RWBY Rewind: Ruby Rose Rewinds With Us

She feels like she constantly needs to be a pillar of strength and support for everyone around her as a leader. She has a hard time opening up about her own feelings and being vulnerable around others. For her, it seems much more natural to internalize those feelings rather than face them head on. As a leader, she feels she isn't supposed to show fear or doubt. If she admits how she's hurting or how scared she is, she'd be afraid of those around her losing faith.

Ironically, it's Ozpin's words of advice to her that enforce this mentality

"But if you aren't constantly performing at your best, what reason do you give others to follow you?"

So even though only a minute ago Oscar saw that Ruby was clearly upset over something (being reminded of Penny's death)

Ruby then goes on to act like nothing's wrong when she then attempts to reassure Oscar. And it feels like a performance, and though Ruby genuinely does want to reassure him, it comes across as insincere to him. He's frustrated because Ruby isn't being honest about how she's feeling, and is only concerned with his feelings.

So in the Dojo scene we have Oscar start to push Ruby past that flawed mentality that Ozpin enforced, to be more honest about how she's feeling, to talk about how the Fall of Beacon and the loss of Phyrra and Penny affected her, how she's afraid of Salem killing people she cares about, and that she'd kill anyone regardless.

And with both Ruby and Yang opening up about their past experiences they can relate to Blake and Oscar's own fears, doubts and insecurities. Blake's need for answers and Oscar's fear of the fight with Salem, and Yang's need for answers and Ruby's fear of the fight with Salem.

"I told you! I'm not telling you to stop! I haven't. To this day I still want to know what happened to my mother and why she left me. But I will never let that search control me. We're going to find the answers we're looking for Blake. But if we destroy ourselves in the process what good are we?" - Yang, Volume 2 Chapter 6

"I am scared! But not just for me. What happened at Beacon shows that Salem doesn't care if you're standing against her or not. She'll kill anybody. And that, scares me most of all. Phyrra... Penny... I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. That I didn't think about them every day since I lost them. That I didn't wish I had spent more time with them. If it had been me instead, I know they would have kept fighting too. No matter how dangerous it was. So that's what I choose to do. To keep moving forward." - Ruby, Volume 5 Chapter 5

And by demonstrating their own resolve, as well as their belief in the kind of people Blake and Oscar are capable of being that inspires them to be that person.

"I'm. Not. Running."

"You. Will." - Blake and Adam, Volume 3 Chapter 11

"She made a choice. To put others before herself. And so do I."

"Then you've chosen death." - Oscar and Hazel, Volume 5 Chapter 12

There's also Blake expressing her doubt in Yang during volume 3 after she attacked Mecury, causing Yang to question her own judgement.

She compares it to how Adam used to attack people, and of course she knows Yang wouldn't do something like that without good reason, but she can't but feel like the situation is very familiar. And Blake knows Yang isn't Adam, and makes it clear that she's decided to trust Yang.

"I want to trust you. I will trust you." - Volume 3 Chapter 8

But despite that, Blake's words do still weigh on her mind even when she's alone, where Qrow comes to talk to her about what happened and reassure her, and then they end up talking about her mum.

And then with Ruby in volume 7, Oscar expresses his doubt in Ruby in her decision to lie and hide the truth from Ironwood, comparing it to how Ozpin did the same to them, which, similar to Yang, causes Ruby to question her own judgement. And obviously he knows Ruby isn't Ozpin, that she probably had a good reason for lying. But again, the situation just feels so familiar.

But ultimately he decides to put his trust in Ruby, even before Ironwood.

"I do believe in you. But not only you." - Volume 7 Chapter 7

And by episode 9 they're both on the same page in deciding to choose the truth over fear. (if only James could have stayed on that page too)

Similarly to Yang, we see Ruby alone in episode 4 of volume 7, and you can tell Oscar's words are still weighing on her mind, as Qrow comes over to talk to her and she asks him if she is like Ozpin, and he reassures her that she's not, and then they end up talking about her mother.

Okay, so I'm going to go out on a limb here, and you can call me out on my bullshit if you like, but I'm making a prediction (like, 12 hours from the finale, but hey, it might happen later in the series for all I know)

If we're going full in on the parallels here, remember how Yang lost an arm trying to protect Blake from Adam, and afterwards Blake ends up leaving Yang like Raven, believing she'd be better off without her?

And how Salem is on her way to Atlas after hearing Ozpin had reincarnated, the foreshadowing for Ruby losing an eye and them bringing up her trauma around Summer in Chapter 11?

On top of her wanting Ruby alive?

I'm gonna guess Ruby loses an eye trying to protect Oscar, and then afterwards either Oscar or Ruby tries to sacrifice and give themselves up to Salem, except it ends up being a hollow sacrifice like Summer's

"I didn't have a choice I did what I had to do I made a sacrifice but forced a bigger sacrifice on you!" - Red like Roses Part 2

Because Salem would end up taking both of them either way. I actually can't imagine a scenario where she doesn't, because she needs both of them. But one of them has a worse fate, a "bigger sacrifice" in store for them when they reach Evernight (which I'm still thinking is Ruby)

#rwby #ozpin #oscar pine #yang xiao long #ruby rose #salem #blake belladona #adam taurus #trash meta #thank FUCK I can finally sleep #thanks to anyone who read this to the end #I don't think I'm any good at this but it feels good to just waffle sometimes

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