#rwby v8c12

[thesefleetingthoughts]

I see Penny theories left and right contradicting each other and being conflicted about Winter and Little and frankly I’d like them both to be true. I think it’s possible tbh. A bit long but I had to write my thoughts on that:

When I think back to V7 and Penny’s quote to Ruby during the truck scene “I feel like I wish I could do both the things I need to do and the things I want to do. is that normal?”... It makes me think she did, for once. At that point in time in V8 before her death, Penny had both a duty to fulfill (protecting the maiden powers) and her own free will to fulfill (protect her friends/Ruby).

On top of that, we know she’s extra perceptive with how quickly she noticed Blake being a faunus and Ruby’s semblance in details, so it’s possible that she, and on her own, found a way to concile both her obligations and wants. The show lingered a bit on Penny with a shot of her looking at her hands in her new body right before entering the central location in V8C12, as if she had noticed something about it too.

So my best hope is that in order to protect the maiden powers AND help Ruby & co after their fall, she used her extensive knowledge of both her own nature and Jaune’s semblance (his colour instead of hers during the maiden tranfer) to split herself off into separate parts. Her Maiden powers and memories would have gone off with Winter, as they usually do during maiden transfers, but her soul would have gotten in the Ever After as her body still on the golden platforms of the central location fell down, going in the same manner through a process of Ascension. Reborn anew and cleansed of memories, her soul would wander the land as a nameless mouse whose purpose has not been determined yet because it’s too young, when they met a strange, unknown creature named Ruby Rose.

Little /is/ young, they’ve said so themselves and seemingly don’t have a purpose yet. But actually... right now, they do. They act as a (very sleepy) guide to team RWBY but also as a sliver of hope to Ruby specifically, with the way Jinxy’s empty jar of hope framed Little with the jade mannequin. Personality-wise they’re upbeat, curious, unassuming and full of wonder. Reminds of someone else before shit went down, doesn’t it? Let’s add some lines to this with them stating that hugs are very valuable when in V8C12 Penny was shown to enjoy hugs very much, as well as during past volumes. There is also the mention of Little saying they were Ruby’s friend (?) if I recall correctly, which is an obvious thing to tell the audience but a character who emphasized this fact quite often vocally like that was Penny throughout the series, when talking about anyone remotely close to her who wasn’t family. Oh, and want a fun fact? Penny losing her memories is a scrapped V7 idea for her “rebuilt” return. They had to throw it away because of time issues :)))))

Why was Ruby given a small little guide on arrival on the island, who seems to endorse a role of moral support too? Because that’s probably what Penny /wanted/, to help Ruby in her own manner.

That’s all speculations but I do think it’s not 300% absurd to think Penny, the girl willing to throw her life left and right, would gamble to try and help Ruby + friends AND get the powers to safety. And if it’s true I do think it was the biggest gamble she could’ve done, ever, because she didn’t know Ruby was alive, she didn’t know /what was under the central location/ and that’s why she thought of Winter in her final moments to give the Winter maiden powers away. Her /duty/ would be fulfilled no matter what, but her will was for her soul to go wherever Ruby would go, to help her if she needed it, or to join her in the afterlife were she dead.

[princess-of-the-corner]

One thing to note about RWBY is that it REALLY "grew the beard" over the course of its runtime.

Volumes 1-3 were animated in Poser (software that wasn't intended for use in animation), with rougher backgrounds and more simplistic writing related to complex themes. They were also only ever intended to be an extended prologue to the ACTUAL show, with the Big Twist of the Volume 3 finale being that the climax was actually just the inciting incident to the show's ACTUAL conflict.

Starting from Volume 4, the crew switched to Maya (software that's intended for use in animation), got better at writing more complex topics (the White Fang is treated more sympathetically than in the "Beacon Arc"), and Jaune was actually an interesting character for the entirety of the "Anima Arc" that lasted from Volumes 4-6.

Volume 7 is probably the best season of the show (I don't have a Crunchyroll account and so I haven't had the chance to watch Volume 9 in its entirety yet, even if I know what happens there). It deconstructs the whole "America Saves the World" trope with Atlas, and has some pretty good political satire that wound up being eerily prophetic. Also, Robyn Hill is one of the best characters the show has ever introduced.

Volume 8 contains both the best and worst moments of the series. V8C1-V8C11 features some of the best storytelling and most tense action from the franchise ever, but V8C12 has the overall message of "Okay but, the people who dehumanized Penny over her mechanical body KINDA had a point, let's fix what isn't broken!", V8C13 is a pretty descent villain episode, and V8C14 is by far the most offensive piece of media I've ever been subjected to. But still, up until those last three episodes, it was basically flawless.

I've heard Volume 9 is pretty good, but I'm side-eying everything involving Jaune because I honestly DESPISE the direction they took his arc in. But if we ignore EVERYTHING related to Jaune's role in the Volume, I like basically everything I've heard about it.

RWBY: After the Fall is a very good spin-off novel focused on popular side characters Team CFVY and shows what they've been up to since the Fall of Beacon in Volume 3. it also has a really interesting gimmick, as every other chapter is a flashback to something that happened in Team CFVY's past, further fleshing out their minor roles in the show.

RWBY: Before the Dawn is actual garbage. Sun's character arc (wherein his hypocrisy from the show is actually acknowledged and challenged) and Coco's and Velvet's shiptease are probably the only redeeming qualities. Taking this book into account actually makes Ironwood's reluctance to call Vacuo for help look REASONABLE. 2/10.

RWBY: Roman Holiday is a prequel novel focused on Roman and Neo, but Neo is the true protagonist here. The first few chapters leading up to their first meeting alternate between their perspectives, with the book being largely Neo focused after they finally meet.

RWBY: Fairy Tales of Remnant is an anthology of in-universe fairy tales. You can read it at any point in the series, but the further into the series you are when you read it, the more hints to RWBY's overarching plot you'll notice. While all of the Fairy Tales are works of fiction, some of them are dramatizations of actual events in the shadow war that RWBY's plot revolves around.

RWBY x JL: Super Heroes and Huntsmen is a 2-part film series wherein Team RWBY teams up with the Justice League. Part 1 features the Justice League visiting Remnant (kinda) during the events of Volume 7, and Part 2 features Team RWBY visiting DC Earth after the events of Volume 9.

There's also some ambiguously canonical comics published by DC, as well as 2 explicitly non-canon RWBY/DC crossover comic series. One features alternate versions of the Justice League cast who were born on Remnant, another features Remnant and DC Earth fusing due to Salem tricking Lex Luthor into helping her by playing off of his hatred of Superman. Neither of these crossovers are in continuity with the crossover movies.

Fascinating actually

[swapauanon]

Okay so, do I need to dunk on V8C12 more? Because I was JUST made aware of the transhumanist part of the RWBY fandom while browsing Penny fics, and like...

Where've you guys been this whole time?

Like, SERIOUSLY, y'all have some of the best Penny content I've ever seen!

[yinyangofnevermore]

This move was SICK

Git it, ice queen

[lunarwby]

hugposting

[squee30000]

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

FUCK

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

[marithlizard]

First impressions of RWBY v8e12, “Creation”

I should wait till I have more time to watch this, but the episode title is just too alarming.  (One of the many differences between Remnant and Discworld: nobody is ever going to sit around making up verses of  "A Relic Staff has a Knob on the End".)

All the airships that don't have plot armor are being divebombed by chibi Kevins that cling to the cockpits with their talons.   Very consistent attack patterns there.   I’m trying to imagine Salem training Grimm, or glorping them into existence with pre-implanted instincts based on type.  

Ironwood, that's a dorky-looking gun.  Seriously. It's not heavy enough to need to be braced against something or mounted on something, so it doesn't look THAT threatening,  but it's occupying both your hands so you can't gesture dramatically during the imminent confrontation.    -10 style points.

I'm pretty sure he plans to bomb Mantle anyway, out of petty resentment against the heroes.  

Harriet still committed, Vine and Elm not seeing a way out.  Hi,  Winter.  You're looking distinctly  more chipper now that you have a Plan.

...You DO have a plan, right?  You were just making one last halfhearted overture to a man you used to respect?

Oh, the dorky thing is a scanner?   Something Penny-specific?   ....Or it was just there to be menacing until the handcuffs are on Penny?  Because handcuffs will somehow stop a Maiden? I keep thinking "but these characters aren't THAT dumb", and having to remind myself this is just what RWBY's like.

BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHA good job Emerald.  And you only had to fool two minds because the Ace Ops very conveniently left.

Fight!  Will Ironwood be surprised to see Oscar? I'm guessing no, he knew who had to have blown up the whale.

YEAH Winter and Nora teamup!  Lots of good dramatic moments here.   Winter and Oscar charging on a summon! And Oscar rebounding off of a glyph like he's practiced  it a zillion times. But that wasn't Winter's glyph, was it?  She looked pretty occupied. Can she just cast them mentally while multitasking a completely separate attack?  Or is Weiss here somewhere?  (EDIT:  Apparently Winter *is* that badass.)

What was that strike?  That didn't look or sound quite like a normal Aura break. Some sort of stunzap from Winter's sword?  Or  just a little reminder that Ironwood has been running on his Mettle semblance for months now, and it's all that was holding him together?  (Which was never mentioned in the show, I saw it as something explained in I think Amity Arena.)

Excuse me, did you say "drop Atlas", Robyn?   Is THAT the plan?  Lower Atlas safely,  then use the staff  for something else?  That...doesn't suck as an idea, on first listen.

This was meticulously planned, especially considering the two groups (RQWM and everyone else)  didn't have a chance to meet up before hand or rehearse anything.   Let's see how it happened.

Winter explaining the facts of life to Marrow,  good.

Yeah, we all knew who was in that elevator.   (Wouldn't it be nice to get a Qrow-Winter conversation to close out their animosity?  But I expect that like most conversations it will have to wait for fanfic.)

The what now.

The STAFF has a Jinn-equivalent?  I guess it's logical that all the relics would have spirits, but it honestly hadn't occurred to me.    And he wants blueprints.  Interesting!  Well, they have local wifi and all the knowlege of Atlas, that should help.  

Before, Oz-using-Oscar's-voice  sounded pretty distinct.  Now not so much. The two of them are sounding quite a bit more similar.  

Whitley continuing to contribute!  I think he's going to do fine running the SDC.

Whitley *and* Willow along with the second party, that does surprise me. I wonder what part Klein is playing, or if he's on standby as a medic.

Looking at the architecture around the Vault now, it's distinctly weird.  All that open space, stairs and bridges over yawning abysses.  It doesn't look very secure. More like a Star Wars setpiece for a climactic  battle.  (Has anyone done a clip of the v7 confrontation with Ironwood announcing that he's Oscar's father before shooting him?)

Eeeee, that's a plan with a LOT of assumptions and very little time.  Oscar and Oz aren't there. The Penny party doesn't know how to use the staff. Will they have to talk the spirit into helping her?  How does "creation" as a power translate to "remove the virus from this android body"?

And behind the Vault door is what looks like another pocket dimension. With overmanicured lawn grounds.  Has the spirit been golfing in here to pass the time?

Time stopped when Ruby touched the staff.  So that's not a Lamp-specific thing either. And she even didn't have to say a name....it'd be very useful just as a time stop artifact.

Ironwood is getting the cell next to Jacques, hah.   Now that's  a conversation I don't mind if the show skips.

pffft Hi, you're overdramatic and underdressed. I kind of want to know what nickname Robyn would give you.  

Two  lines in and I can already tell Ambrosius and Oz did not get along at ALL.

I wonder if there's any limits on how often the power can be used, as with the lamp, or if the limit is provided by his personality?

Ooh, they DID think this request out well.  I'm not clear on if the new Penny will be an android along the same  lines, or a  sort of golem, or what,  but  she'll end up as herself with a working body and that's what matters.

You planned everything out *except* the speech to the panicking populace, I see.  

Oh no, Watts has diabolical timing and is sniggering somewhere right now.

Just shut up, Jacques.

She gets a much more humanlike body! I'd say a human body, but it was built from robot parts so it can't be, can it?  And the Maiden powers will stay with Penny, because they're tied to her soul.

The soulless husk of Penny's body shorting out and dying is quite a disturbing sight even when you know it's no longer her.   (And I'm sure will be used as a clip without context to scare people. )

Okay, we're just going to handwave the details and it's a human body. I like Penny so I'm not going to be too pedantic about it.  

Using the Vault as a refugee camp??   They *are* creative. Oh, no, huh, they're sending everyone to Vacuo?  They had coordinates prepared, presumably - but they haven't been able to contact Vacuo so thousands of people are going to show up in a place not ready for them.   A desert place.  

I mean, there's not a lot of *options*, they had to send them somewhere, but now that I think about it, why Vacuo and not Mistral or Vale? Are they assuming - hoping - Vacuo still has decent Kingdom defenses and an economy that can take in the entire combined population of Atlas and Mantle on no notice?

Gosh, I hope the nation Qrow said was full of "thieves and murderers" handles refugees seeking asylum more humanely than most Earth countries.

Ambrosious said he was disappointed at how thorough they'd been.   Does he enjoy it when the things he builds have unanticipated consequences that upset people?   That's not very benevolent.   Jinn seems like she actually wants to help (relatively speaking).

We don't say thank you or goodbye to spirits, I see.  I thought at least some of these girls were raised on fairy tales!  Politeness to supernatural entities is important.  (But then, Oz has straight-up ignored Jinn twice now, and he's a fairy tale expert.  I'm still mulling over that as a plotbunny.)

"Do Not Fall"   Well!  I guess we know what'll happen to Ruby now!

Cinder in the crowd.  Did Watts and Neo not go through? They must have been quite surprised to have whatever their clever evil plan was interrupted by the sudden appearance of magic doors everywhere.

A very unexpected episode all around!    Most of my guesses this season have been wrong, and pleasantly so.    Two more episodes for the unknown horrible shoe to drop. Final random thoughts:

 I was thinking Ruby, but what if all of RWBY falls, leaving the others to go on to Vacuo thinking they're dead for most of volume 9?    

Where Pietro and Maria at this point? Drifting slowly downward in Amity,  I think, unless  they were able to stabilize it.   A few episodes ago I was sure they wouldn't  make it out of this volume alive, but now I have no idea.

I expect the entire population of Atlas and Mantle will go through the doors to move the plot along, but realistically speaking, a lot of people would be very reluctant to go through mysterious one-way portals with no explanation.   Even when the alternative is plummeting with Atlas or freezing/starving/being eaten by Grimm in Mantle.

[desib717]

Official rwby Twitter really testing everyone's patience rn

[damoclesangel]

I spent entirely too much time on this.

Has this been done yet?

[wolfbetweenrivers]

Winter and Ace Ops Headcanon Illustrated!

Hiya. So I have this really fun headcanon about Winter and the Ace Ops from RWBY. Over a week ago I was discussing this headcanon of mine with @fishyfod​ and he suggested that I not only share it here but also draw it out. I really liked that I idea so I did it. Now that I’ve finally finished the drawings I’m ready to share my headcanon. 

So this headcanon is basically about what would happen if Winter continued to lead the Ace Ops on missions after Clover’s death and how she would actually make a great leader of the Ace Ops. I came up with it after seeing V8C12 and how Winter played a strong support role when she, JNOR and Emerald took down Ironwood. Using her Semblance to give others a boost. 

In other words this headcanon talks about how Winter, as the leader of the Ace Ops would use her Semblance to support each of the Ace Ops’ respective fighting styles.

Winter and Marrow

Marrow’s Semblance is the ability to freeze an opponent in place by commanding “STAY!” while pointing his finger and maintaining his gaze on the opponent. But if Marrow were to run out of Aura, therefore unable to use his Semblance, Winter could help by using her Gravity Glyphs to keep opponents in one place while Marrow can sweep them with his boomerang Fetch.

Winter and Harriet

We’ve seen Weiss using her Glyphs on Ruby while Ruby uses her Petal Burst so that she can go even faster. So it’s not hard to imagine Winter using the same way to help Harriet move even faster, even while she’s using her Speed Semblance.

Winter and Elm

Elm’s Semblance is the ability to plant her feet to the ground with roots made of Aura forming around her feet and digging into the ground, making her immovable. But we’ve seen in V7C12 that her Semblance won’t work on unstable terrain. Winter can make up for that by using her Gravity Glyphs to keep Elm in place instead.

Winter and Vine

Vine’s Semblance is the ability to create vine-like extensions from his limbs made of Aura. He uses this to grab far away things as well as for mobility. This Semblance works best in an environment were there are lots of stuff to grab on to so he can swing around from them. In an environment where there’s nothing to grab onto, therefore limiting his mobility, Winter can use her Gravity Glyphs as anchors from which Vine can swing around.

Being able to play this kind of support role requires lots of coordination and and you’d have to be able to predict your partner’s every move while also predicting those of your opponents. Winter has shown to be perfectly capable of that in V812. She was able to provide just the right support for the right Huntsman/Huntress at the right time with precision. So if she were to continue as the leader of the Ace Ops, imagine how formidable and efficient they would be on missions!

This is actually the first time I’ve come up with such an elaborate headcanon. But I like how it turned out. Drawing it made it even more fun. Thanks again Fishy for the suggesting of drawing it out, you’re the best!

[cosmokyrin]

Penny‘s current state

Okay so now that I've had time to process the whole bajillion things that happened in the latest ep, I think I kind of wrapped around my head on what happened to Penny.

I think a good part of the FNDM's reaction (including mine) was because there was always investment in Penny being a robot / android. The original appeal of her character was because she was a robot with the mind of a person. She struggled like a human would regarding her feelings vs her programming. And that's valid. In fact, pretty sure a lot of us found her quirky and adorable and rooted for her because of this.

But now I feel like, while I got invested with her being a robot, and thought she would stay that way forever, what RWBY did was made me realize the concept of Penny being a soul contained (or “trapped”) within a robotic body. We liked her being a robot, a whole lot, sure. But the thing is that wasn't exactly what Penny was, all this time. Since Volume 2, we know that she always felt insecure about her "realness". I thought, and held on to the thought that it was because she was a robot, but no, it's not because she was a robot - but because she was an artificial intelligence. And she was never certain of her agency that time. She always had that thought gnawing at the back of her head, that she was just a programming (remember in V8C5 when Cinder hit her below the belt saying, "If you weren't built that way!" implying that so long as Penny was a robot, her autonomy was uncertain).

Throughout RWBY, Ruby and her other friends always pointed out that she has a soul. There was always emphasis in the soul (V8C12 Ruby: “Her soul is who she is.”). They never talked to Penny as a robot at all, they always spoke directly to her. Because the show always emphasized that past that mechanical body, they were all interacting with a soul, just as you wouldn't say Alphonse Elric (Full Metal Alchemist) was just a large armor talking and moving like a human. Alphonse was a soul trapped in a mechanical body, just like Penny was. The goal for Alphonse was to return to his original body using the Philosopher’s Stone. Penny’s goal was to have her soul break free from being trapped in a body that always made her doubt her autonomy / agency.

In a way as well, Penny sort of transcended death. I think the emphasis on her mechanical body breaking down like that was meant to make a point. That would have been Penny without a soul -- cold and emotionless. But because she was more than that, she got past the death of her body and was able to live as Penny herself. She was not her body. That was just a part of her, and she can shed it away because it was not her. (The metaphysical aspects of this is sending me jsljfs). Personally I feel sad about seeing that breakdown, because I got so used to knowing Penny as a robot / android, but now she's past that, because all her being a robot was just temporary for her character (though it was a really looong arc, if we count by the years RWBY has aired).

So what is Penny now? I think, as others have pointed out, she is just indeed some walking entity of sorts. Since the episode seemed to emphasize that Penny was always the intelligence behind the robot, she's just like Vision from Avengers now. She's technically a manifestation of the reality she formed for herself (aka, her personal belief that she's a real girl / person). See, Vision went directly from being an AI (Jarvis, "confined" in a network different from our reality) to a manifested physical body, but definitely not human. That's Penny.

Penny is now, in a sense, truly free or her confinement. Not what I expected it to be, but I think that's pretty neat. I think the whole thing is a callback to the “I want to live my life” theme from V8C5. I'll definitely miss her being a robot, but Penny is still Penny without being an android. Though imagine now if it's possible that Penny can shapeshift, or go Green Lantern on herself :)

[thesefleetingthoughts]

A convoluted theory regarding Penny’s presence on the island in V9, that came to mind when rewatching the opening, or rather a certain shot

Notice these two cloud-like shooting stars falling on the island, who seem to follow a similar path? My theory is that the dark green one is Alyx and the blue one is... Penny, in different timelines. Let me start with Penny.

We know for a fact that her “new” body in V8C12 was created as a byproduct of Ambrosius’ attempt to create an identical mechanical body, leaving her soul to stand on her own on the side. As a reminder, here’s what Ambrosius’s magic looked like:

We also know that his magic, a foam extremely similar to the one falling in the V9 OP, was used on BOTH the new mechanical body and her new “fleshy” body (the byproduct), thanks to this single shot from V8C12 below, showcasing /both/ bodies bathing in the foam. This means even though the request never mentionned for him to manipulate the fleshy body with magic, he had to in order to fulfill the command given to him.

AND we know that even after the work was done, the magic remains /inside/ the two bodies, until the staff is used again and the magic from the mechanical body leaves.

Except Penny’s fleshy body did NOT disappear, did it, now? Because it’d be against the rules established, Ambrosius /cannot destroy/. Which means Penny’s fleshy body still contained Ambrosius’ magic when she died in V8C14.

That is how, or at least why, I think the light blue cloud is Penny, or at least a part of her, and mayyyybe why there’s a blade and hopefully more lying around.

Now about Alyx, the green cloud, and her relation with Penny. A lot of this is speculative as we have very few info on Alyx at this point but still. Back to the OP. Alyx is showcased as a shadow figure RWBY follows, as if she /was not actually there/ and so far, it’s true. They’re following in her footsteps to go on, but she’s nowhere to be seen. And I’m inclined to think she’s not a character they’ll meet at all, for this reason, because they could be in different timelines.

The other element from the OP that makes me think that is the shot of Alyx on the beach. It looks like she washes up right next to Crescent Rose, a gigantic scythe in the middle of the ground, but pays it no mind at all. Weird isn’t it? Unless these two elements are not there at the same time, and Alyx washed up on the shore long ago, right where Crescent Rose washed up now. And the whole shot with both is for symbolism.

Now back to our cloudy shooting stars coming down. I think the same logic would apply there, with Alyx and Penny falling in the same spot but at different times. I’ll go into the symbolism part after but first, the reason why I think the green one is alyx: the colour matches with her skirt quite well. Colour alone would suffice for the rest of the theory I want to explain regarding Penny, but I’d like to point out something more when it comes to the difference in timelines I think is happening. It’s a lot more speculative, but Alyx may be related to one of the Ozcarnation further in the past, which could help situate her in a different timeline, thanks to this very green.

We know for a fact Ozma’s daughters all died, but it’s unknown if he ever tried to revive some sort of legacy out of nostalgia with other of his children. You know, for example by giving his kids clothes a certain colour or something. I’m saying this because the green and gold from Alyx’s skirt are VERY reminiscent of a specific daughter. Second from the left.

And this colour combination was very coincidentally close to Ozma’s very own palette, except more green than blue overall.

We don’t know for a fact Ozma didn’t have kids/grandkids, etc “recently” through incarnations, but if we refer to Jinn’s flashback only, Alyx’s existence is more likely to be in a relatively far past than the present based on the last Ozcarnations we know (Ozpin was white, the previous one who asked Jinn’s how to beat Salem too), unless her skintone is inherited from her mother’s side instead.

Now, why would Penny and Alyx be paralleled like this in the OP, even though the episodes so far seem to imply it’s Ruby and her team who are supposed to do so? I think that’s because RWBY won’t be the only one following in Alyx’s footstep, and that the “new” girl who fell through the world is Penny. Hair length, hair accessory, dress/top sleeve shape are also similar between these two.

And I think the reason why is because RWBY, or more specifically Ruby, is destined to fail as Alyx’s successor, unless she’s guided by the actual successor. The hope she lost and she needs to regain. I reached picture limit, but the shot of Alyx on the bridge in the OP, turning to the camera only to become an insane Ruby makes me think Ruby trully cannot follow in Alyx’s footstep as of now, she’s missing something and trying to do so will eventually break her.

As for the landing spot of the two cloudy shooting stars, If the timelines are different like I think, that means Penny/whatever she left behind, washed up /right next to Crescent Rose/ as that’s where Alyx landed long ago. And I’m not sure what to make of that but if that’s true it has to be important right?

[knights-of-onyx]

No context GIF summary of RWBY V8C13 "Worthy"

Oh look, I actually used a RWBY gif in a summary, that's... Neat. Anyway, I'm going to crawl back into my hole and curl up into a ball while I scream. The death flags are flying y'all

V8C12 V8C14

Bonus GIF: Me knowing the last chapter of this volume is next week:

[swapauanon]

Okay so, given what we now know about Penny's arc, and with the gift of hindsight, I think I can safely say this:

Just because the loss of limbs/use of prosthetics being equated to the loss of humanity is a long established Cyberpunk trope, did NOT make it okay for RWBY to play it straight with Ironwood.

Treating it as symbolic of his recklessness, impulsiveness, or refusal to learn would've been one thing, but SPECIFICALLY and DELIBERATELY using the loss of Ironwood's arm to signify the moment he ceases to be human is just...

Wrong.

And what makes Ironwood's prosthetics different from Cinder's Grimm arm?

Nobody has a parasitic monster that literally eats souls attached to the stump their arm used to be that is also slowly eating them alive while still otherwise being mostly under their control, but there ARE people in the real world who need to replace parts of their bodies with machinery due to injuries or other health issues.

Having a character with a mechanical body she loves trade it for an organic body as a NECESSARY STEP IN HER CHARACTER ARC to "prove" her personhood is ANOTHER icky implication, and MANY disabled people (INCLUDING defenders of the show) have spoken out against V8C12 for that reason!

In short, while it's not the REAL reason why the Ironwood stans were complaining (they were just grasping at straws and ACCIDENTALLY raised a valid point), I think it's time for the FNDM to treat Ironwood trading his arm in for a prosthetic as proof of his inhuman nature the same way they treat Sienna Khan's treatment.

[yinyangofnevermore]

Follow the yellow brick road

[lunarwby]

...

GODDAMN IT