#sdc month 2020

[right-there-ride-on]

SBR announcement next month or bust

Please please please please please

Look I know I’m crazy but consider:

PB + BT:

Began airing Oct. 2012 - Ended April 2013

SDC (12 month gap):

Began airing April 2014 - Ended June 2015

DiU (10 month gap):

Began airing April 2016 - Ended December 2016

GW (22 month gap):

Began airing Oct 2018 - Ended July 2019

SO (29 month gap -> Removing 2020 to account for Covid, 17 months):

Began airing Dec 2021 - Ended Dec 2022

(SO also had to deal with the Netflix deal, which combined with Covid could point to why it was a 3 year gap rather than the usual year or so)

We are currently at the 15 month mark since SO finished airing. Jojo World already did an event in NYC in 2023, so if you’re going for population, why not go there again instead of picking a NJ suburb…? I’m sorry but Cali and New Jersey seems a little specific - you know, the place where the race starts and where the main villain is defeated respectively…

All I’m saying is,, it’s not impossible

[accio-victuuri]

sugar rush 2022: part two

Hello everyone! it’s that time of the year where I round-up the candies brought to us from July-December 2022. I have purposely added ones that captured the eyes of fans. I have also included some good old cpn archaeology I posted during these months in the mix. It’s been a good year, filled with ups and downs for the boys and this fandom but our original intention remains the same. to support them the best way we can and keep em safe. I hope this post gives you some year-end happiness and have a good disposition to face the new year ahead. This is the round up of the first half of the year in case you missed it. bjyxszd. 🤍

JULY 2022

• Similar Chongya pose from the SDC 5 poster. I know Youku have their own graphic designers, but this is just a nice coincidence.

• GG’s GUCCI Link to Love Jewelry

• Video of GG from WDB shoot and he is playing “skipping rocks”. Something that he and Bobo likes to do. They are such kids!!!!

• Bobo is wearing the 🦴 necklace in SDC 5 photoshoot ; Also in the close up images you can see Bobo’s moles and people were quick to compare it to GG. They both have lots of moles— almost like constellations.

• He is also in a Stussy shirt — a brand that they both wear.

• In a grocery store in China, you have our boys! 😂

• Their teams sharing one braincell again 🧠

• CPN post on XZ’s badminton photos 📷

• A Rainbow watch appears on XZ

• Posting at the same time

• I am just adding it here but I don’t think it’s a true CPN. Youku’s official account on Twitter posted about XZ. The thing is, he has no projects with Youku apart from Marvelous City. In the meantime we know who their VIP Ambassador is — Yibo. It’s a nice coincidence but I think the account posted since XZ is famous with international fans and frequently trends on twitter, so it’s a way for the account to get some exposure to overseas fans. This would have been more sus to me if the Youku account over at weibo posted about him. Lol.

• crown symbol appears

• Analysis of XZ’s 7/12/2022 post : yibo checking, green moon, attorney woo kdrama and whales 🐳 ; Also a parallel from the episode & WangXian.

• KXZ posts about the Moon and missing someone. I don’t think they are necessarily cueing CPF because of that. What I got from it is the whole Moon being a symbol of missing someone when you take a picture of it is not CPF imagination. What is also weird is I don’t see solos posting so much about that narrative when the photos were released— it was mostly CPF. Sooooo...

• CPN thoughts on XZ’s 7/15/2022 Oasis post : the number 25 and other coincidences + same carpet as SDC (?) & why he used that emoji.

• 7/17/2022 LRLG Rumor analysis / translation

• There are theories that XZ was at Web’s hotel 7/16, this whole thing is so reminiscent of what happened during BAH/SDC 2020. Where Web can’t wait to get off work. The reason is, Bobo was found to be at the hotel twice within the day. He came back twice. Why can’t he just be on set? People were saying there are so many scenes being filmed but he stayed there for like an hour then went back on set which is 2 hours travel time ( back and forth ). What’s so special at his hotel? 🐰

Then some yellow clowns brought up an interview where Web said he has little time to practice dance — so he does it in the shower. Hmmmmm. 😏

"Dancing certainly is a part of me because it's something I started to learn as a child."

Dancing is his greatest instinct. Despite his packed schedule, he adheres to the principle that he has to be diligent. "Actually, I almost have no time to devote to dancing practice. Usually, I practice to music when I take breaks from work. But that can happen anytime, anywhere. Sometimes I dance during showers, hahahaha,"

Wang Yibo was unable to restrain a laughter.

• On 7/18, this went on HS: Wang Yibo, Song Yier and the Fox Demon King Power Chapter. A rumor that Yibo is gonna star in a Drama. Song Yi is the one who played Baili’s wife in Luoyang. This is not CPN but proof of how quick Yibo’s team is when it comes to refuting rumors. This was quickly denied by big fan accounts and then the producer himself had to speak up and say it’s not true. The point is, if he wants his name out of the HS and a rumor, he will do it. Whether that’s a future project or a potential relationship with someone. Sooooo 🤷🏻‍♀️

• Galaxy brain clowning with WYB’s Lenovo Ad

• Onset of YGY, A bottle of Master Kong Iced tea was spotted. Lol. Yes it is a favorite drink among people in China but what are the odds. A brand endorsed by Yibo. Also this is not the first time that a brand Yibo endorses showed up in GG’s workplace 😏

• Throwback galaxy CPNs ( CQL lego clue, Budapest, Same drawings and Satisfied single )

• BoXiao and Spongebob

• CPN + Brightest Star in the Night Sky

• Yibo turning off/on the related users on his account + the bitter truth to why it happened

• Collection of candies: Random connections, Braun Little Prince Drawing, 🤟🏼 and Spiderman.

• Xiao Zhan clearing his related user

• Revisiting their Day Day Up 2019 playlist

• Gachapon / Claw machine

• Running to you with All I have - song CPN

• Iced Americano in YBO comic

• 6KKI brand

• Part III of the related user CPN

• The Ultraman Pose and X for Xnine! It’s a cute coincidence cause the one done by Web is not just that move. It’s a dance routine ✌🏼

AUGUST 2022

• The 8/4 coincidence. Back in 2021, YGY wrapped up. This year, One and Only filming ended.

• During 8.5, everyone was waiting for YBO to post but they didn’t. Yibo went online to delete the automatic birthday banner on his account where everyone can post. What we noticed is GG has a hidden weibo post that appeared around the same time Web was online. We CPN that GG posted something in private just for them. We don’t know at this point what their schedule is but there is some chance of them meeting. It was a quiet birthday on Yibo’s part because of Political tensions.

• BoXiao and Bamboo 🎋

• One and Only behind the scenes has this line : Hope you meet soon. The one who made you a kid again. ; It reminded BXGs of how he and XZ were so child like during filming of CQL. Love makes you act like a child. 🥺

• 8/8, a supposed Yuehua Contract of Yibo was going around where it states he is signed with them till 10/2026. Of course our 2026 sensitive turtle brains are all over it because it’s such a coincidence.

• 8/9, Bobo was photographed leaving Hangzhou and the bone necklace makes an appearance again. SDC photos were also released and we noticed some things like another flower theme 🌺

• 8/10, Bobo’s Big Show Captain Dance teaser was released and so we see another patch. Same place. If you don’t know the CPN to this, it’s the tattoo rumor. This is not the best photo, but do you see the skin toned plaster?

• Xiao Zhan as the announcement bird for Being A Hero’s broadcast.

• 8/11, Bobo was photographed wearing the bone necklace and this time, it’s out of his shirt. Unlike the other day. This is interesting because the night before there was a hot search about XZ being single. This seems like a message to those who pay attention. He still has the 🦴. The relationship is stable!

• 8/13/2022 candy round up - gg’s ysl photos and some sdc 5 episode 1 things

• Yibo’s Moon Brooch @ Weibo Movie Night ; Also, he left as soon as his part was over. He was photographed leaving wearing casual clothes on and the bone necklace. They are in Beijing, so people are saying he wants to go home early 🏡

• YBO & XZS “be like” similarity 💕

• Monday sweetness : folding clothes, same vegetable dish, signing close to X2 that looks like XZ, mosquito patch etc.

• 8/19 yibo airport cpn, last resort shoes, new rufeng bts video shared

• 8/24, the both went on HS because the 2019 KTV recording of when they sang CONTENTMENT was re uploaded on Kugou Music.

more on the backstory of this recording as well as cpn song analysis over here.

* small CPNs - BAH interview clues, tod’s timeless and bts of XZ looking for yibo

* Zwilling live sweets

* SDC 5 episode 3 things : Hachiko and Yibo holding the bone necklace

* Chanel Boy Necklace

* Evidence of Yibo wearing Daisy Star necklace during BAH shooting

* Zhan Zhan’s has a skateboard?

SEPTEMBER 2022

• number coincidences in BAH

• DDU features a grafitti wall in Chongqing with BJYX writings

• 9/2 - 9/4 candies - asian games statement regarding one & only, hotpot episode clues, roborock endorsements and BAH double standards.

• The 95% reading

• YBO shares a video of Bobo playing frisbee and the BGM is the same as XZS’ where GG was also playing frisbee

• A new 🦴 necklace development. It is engraved with the character that means KING.  

• Mid-Autumn Festival Candies

• 9/11 LRLG Rumor

• Random CPN recurrence : Yibo as Luffy + Yibo drinking from a big watter bottle

• Minor sweets : BTF behind the scenes red bracelet, Evisu jacket, Cool Kids douyin, BJYX ST increasing in number and BANANAIN 33

• Same / Similar logo 8 and XZ

• IT TAKES TWO ( game ) CPN

• CPN on Yibo-Official’s message on 8 year anniv

• Xiao Zhan XX bag

• Heart with a Mole @ xinxiangyin’s ad

• CPN on Yibo’s fears as per SDC Micro Movie

• More brand coincidence

• smol cpn post : web’s aircraft drawing, camping cpn, brand association and same douyin actions

• tasogare short film cpns : skateboard | glasses, mole and hangzhou westlake

• Chen Shuo x Sheng Yang CP ( same shoes ) + Rio

OCTOBER 2022

• Web’s sus reaction in SDC 5 episode 8, when it was mentioned that the performance will be a sichuan-chongqing love story. Also, the camera only showed his reaction. Shouldn’t it be nathan cause he is always saying that his wife is from Sichuan?

He was also nodding along when Nathan was talking about having a s/o from that region. Lol. Why?

• BXGs have noticed their preference for tank tops recently. There was a fake rumor before that was about them buying black and white tops so this might be a product of that. Not complaining tho.

• Aquamarine gucci head necklace

• GG’s birthday, Yibo had a hidden weibo post 🥺 1121 to 1122.

• both of them promoting the hangzhou asian games! they really are the go-to ambassadors when you wanna reach the international audience 🤍

• same shoes again ( starwalk ) ; sailormoon and same pose.

• yibo chooses scissors in the game

• gg’s dior top as inspo for web’s SDC look

• yibo saying cycling is a good exercise

• times when LRLG was telling the truth

• similar art style @ let’s chat episode 10 + yibo avoiding the question about a necklace

• OOL deletes fanvids and GG’s possible involvement

• A tale of two selfies : GG’s 11/21/2019 selfie + Yibo’s 11/2/2019 selfie

• This MINDFUCK photo of Yibo. Yes, it’s Yibo. They really look alike depending on what they wear and the angle.

• Compilation : SDC Finale Candies ; and just to add onto this, Bobo was wearing all Stars. and then the next day, 10/30, XZ’s nars campaign is star themed.

• more cpn on the star themed clothes x nars livestream

• 10/31 livestream madness - same day product launch

NOVEMBER 2022

• Both XZ & WYB ; XZS and YBO leveled up their VIP status on Weibo, using the 11.11 deals for weibo membership. XZ did it first and even went on HS midnight onwards. The next day, WYB followed suit and it was public too ; allowing the blog post to be visible. Same with the studios they both published 2 mins apart from each other. Lol. Usually, people will delete this notification or not have it made public.

They both made it into HS too because of it. 😂

Wang Yibo goes online to recharge Weibo member 456610

Xiao Zhan went online late at night to recharge Weibo membership 442681

Other accounts did follow as well as celebrities, but the boys and their studios were definitely the first ones.

and then another one, a few days later on 11/5 both studios posted photo sets 10 mins apart. I can understand why XZS will post on the time it did cause it’s 30 mins from the livestream. YBO could easily post at 20:00 since it’s the timeslot of SDC which is not on air that day — they can treat it as a post SDC gift. but no. HAHAHAHAHA! As if we needed any more reason to think their teams are coordinated.

• Matt the Catt 🤍 ( this has been washed, it’s not the same cat but it’s cool that ZZ and WYB but usually work with LIN studios for their ads. resource sharing! )

• VWL shoes

• Yibo-official using a photo that has turtle LED signs + fake rumor associated with the blue beanie

• CPN compilation: same endorsement production teams, same brand amiri worn during their livestreams, tasogare hint, love is number 8 in xzs post.

• Acupressure point

• Same Thailand FM costume worn in Our Song 😂

• Similar forest scene in Ads

• Fake story about holding hands : i’m out of power

• GG’s secret message to keep warm

• 11/13 douyin posts CPN + 1

• Explanation of GG’s weibo stock photo post

• XZS 11/22 vlog candies

• sun/sunflower cpn part ii

• 11/23 yibo-official rehearsal vlog sweets

• kitty fighting gifs

• Moncler x Tod’s collab

• WYB bringing winter clothes to XZ who is in Shanghai

• LRLG 11/28/2022

• Candy Round-Up Weibo Night 2022

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

• Same pose with their fingers

• CPN on XZS not sharing behind the scenes content for photoshoots when WYB is present at the event

DECEMBER  2022

• Accidental Candy : Red Phone case 📱

• GG uses a Tod’s bag with lion theme

• 12/6 Xiao Zhan airport clues + Addressing the video leak

• CPN Archaeology : skateboard as a distraction after 2019 tencent starlight, white hair and W hotel

• 12/8 Chanel dinner minor candies

• 12/9 2022 TV series awards recommendation. YBO posts about Chen Yu and XZ posts Gu Wei. Uhmmm Hello ChenWei 🤍

• 12/10, Luxury Couple! WYB for Chanel & GG for Gucci.

• New Wuji recording BTS shared by Chengyi

• 12/15 GQ MOTY candies

• 12/16 One said Good Night, the other said Good Morning.

• Chengyi confirms Wuji holding hands + here are my thoughts on this whole thing and a bit of a timeline on things that happened after.

• YBO posted with their IP in Beijing and the time is 17:17. The number is a homonym for “ 一起together”. A coincidence since XZ left at approximately 17:00 to go to BJ. So it’s a clue that they are together in BJ. There were also rumors that Bobo’s new song was recorded this day, so it adds to the CPN that they are together. much more to the speculation that ZZ was there while he is recording.

• Another fanfic artwork by Chengyi. This time, a fake story about WYB post GQ 2019 ( allegedly ) eating instant noodles after the event. An after work snack. Then the design on the packets are rabbits, so he took a picture and shared it among his circle of friends. People are saying it’s this instant noodle for kids! Hahahahahaha! So cuteeee!!  

• 12/20 Yibo weibo post with the BGM of Lucky + Tencent Starlight Candy being sort of confirmed ( yibo at gg’s rehearsal ). >>> The 10c rehearsal candy being sort of confirmed is one of my favorites from this year. just goes to show that CPNs do come true, especially CPNs like this.

• XZS and YBO using the same word in their captions on the same days! Again, they are dating.

• 12/24 Christmas Eve CPN - revisiting the 2020 GG birthday CPN, same greetings and handwriting ( there are more comparison posts about the handwriting but we’re really not experts but it looks so similar ) , zsww fake rumor about missing you and new tidbits  

• Yibo’s new single, concept poster teaser cpn + similarity with GG’s drawing. (1/12) A company posted about their work on the teaser visual and his nye stage, but not the single artwork. Last year, no one even claimed anything. but now someone did but did not own up to all of it. Why not? It’s another one of those things that no one claimed an important piece of artwork connected to yibo.

• Yibo being announced as a performer @ Dragon TV NYE Party and his poster photo being his Douyin outfit. Another example of him using photos from when he was in events with GG.

• GG showing up in Chonqing wearing green pants that look very similar to what Yibo has been wearing. So the thing is, during his personal time, Web has been wearing a certain type of green pants, even seen in his GQ event rehearsal. Then GG suddenly shows up with a similar looking one. 🙃 People are saying it’s the EPIDEMIC one, and Bobo has a matching black version of that. But it’s too similar to what Bobo was wearing for his past engagements, and knowing that they were both just in Beijing together, it screams borrowing each other’s clothes.

• Single teaser 2/12 cpn

• Like The Sunshine / Like Sunlight Analysis post

• ZZ’s 12/30 weibo video and photos

• For Yibo’s SUPER X Ad, we can see stars and bones in what he is wearing. Another recurring imagery for him. I am personally fond of when he wears skeleton/bones because it’s a connection to the 🦴 necklace.

That’s a Wrap for 2022! I will be sharing 12/31 candies tomorrow but that is gonna be included in the 2023 post. We have been very fortunate to have these sweets in the latter half of the month and it’s all thanks to XZ & WYB.

See you all next year for another round up! 👋🏼

[takeachillpillshawty]

When playing Twst, I always wondered if time moved faster or slow in Twst.... My first theory was that time moved faster in the world of Twisted wonderland than our world.... And I went to do a little digging and Twisted Wonderland official release was March 18, 2020 in our world. Meaning us the player have been stuck in Twisted Wonderland for 3 years in our world's time. And my reasoning for time being slower in Twisted Wonderland are two things.

1. Time duration- in Twst we often see time cards and holidays to see the time duration. For example, book 4 takes place during winter break meaning it was near Christmas at that time I estimate that Prefect has been in Twst for about almost a year between the events of book 1 to 4. And during the training camp thing in book 5 it took us weeks to train for the SDC whatever you call it.

2. We are still first Years- in the official website of the game, for the bio of MC we are first Years of NRC along with all the first year gang ( Ace, Deuce, Jack, Epel and Sebek) and that haven't changed a bit, until book 6 where it's confirmed that Ortho was going to be a new student at NRC making him a new member of the first year squad, and probably had to wait a few months to officially transfer to NRC as a fully fledged student.

In conclusion, us the player have been in Twst for about 1 to 2 years while we've been missing in the real world for 3 years.

And I was wondering, ' Well, what about our birthday greeting from the characters? ' I then remember about time zones.

In different parts of the world have different time zones meaning it's in different years for example. When people thought 2012 was going to be the end of the world but it was 2012 in Mayan years.

So in my final conclusion, Twst has the same time flow as our world but it's much slower due to our worlds holding different time zones. in Twst we spend about 1 or 2 years there and in our world we have been missing for 3 years.

Or maybe I'm wrong! But this was a fun theory to work on.

Edit: To be specific, I'm going with the story. So Vignettes and side stories do not count. I'm only sticking with the main story stuff.

[prophbuilds]

ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex Royal - A Retrospective

In 2020, my friend got me something I had been looking at but never honestly thought to get for myself - A Master Grade Barbatos kit.

Now, I'd been looking into some of the neat things folks had been doing with them since the kit dropped. Stuff like adding in metal parts for the joints, doing fantastic aging/battle damage mods and the like. I'm not down for the battle damage or the aging and adding so much metal, although I guess it stiffens up some of the looser joint considerably so it can hold more extreme poses longer, I'm not really worried about that.

No... I just wanted to paint it.

Not wanting to test paints on the actual kit, I went and found myself a decent analog.

I went and picked myself up an SDCS Barbatos Lupus Rex.

Like I said before the break, this started out as a paint test.

Not just any paint test, though...

This was a base for me to actually test some paints on as well as see if my paint scheme would pan out. See... I've been watching folks who customize and restore toy cars (Hot Wheels, Matchbox... those sized cars) and many of them run acrylics when they're not trying to match the paints used on the older toys. This got me thinking that, if I could find the right stuff, I could simply buy some of the thicker paints I've reliably used on other plastics in the past and thin it out to flow like the Testor enamels I've been using for decades.

My search lead me to a paint maker based in CT - Createx Colors - and their acrylic reducers in particular. I didn't expect to get the quality you'd see in their own product lines mixing my own brews using other company's paints. What I got was still an exceptionally stable and durable finish that didn't mess with the other company's paints that terribly. The metallics will fall out of suspension faster but the gloss was still there.

To recap:

I had a plan.

I had the paints.

I... still didn't have the Lupus Rex kit to test on.

At this point, the SDCS Barbatos Lupus Rex kit could've been mistaken for a myth. I don't know if it was because it was a popular kit or the Human Malware that hit or maybe some weird Bandai thing with doing a low run but the Lupus Rex was out of stock everywhere. Nobody had it but eBay and I'm not willing to pay nearly retail price for the MG this was standing in for on an SD kit. Not even an exceptionally neat one.

After a good nine months, one finally came back in stock at one of the online shops I buy from and the plan was a go. The following are progress shots from the build.

As you can see, my plan was very simple. I took the reds and blues and brought them down to my fave dark metallic blue and a nearly crimson red. These darker colors pop off the white far more than expected but in a good way. The classic Gundam Yellow is replaced by my antique gold mix. The idea is to give this version of the Barbatos an almost Pre-Calamity War regal feel. The one thing I couldn't test on the smaller kit is running a metallic (almost pearlecent) white for the white armor pieces.

To take things to that clean "Trailer Queen" level you see in show cars, I did touches of straight metallics on the exposed hydraulics. Shiny silver pistons are held in by copper, gold and brass equipment. This is absolutely a holdover from my looking into the metal replacement parts. = )

All in all, this was a fun build. A simple paint job that did more than I had hoped. When I build the MG Barbatos, I have this little guy as visual reference. At the time of this writing, the thinned paints are holding up against the minor scuffs and scratches it takes as I pose it from time to time. I need to get around to top coating it and my other kits but I'm glad to see my long shot idea has worked out well.

Best thing about this is I get quite possibly the most unique yet cleanest Lupus Rex around. It may not be in line with many folks idea of the Post-Calamity look of the suits and equipment the Tekkadan Crew normally rolls in but I'm sure even Mikazuki would give an indifferent "Okay" to.

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Month Meme #20

Yeah, you guys effed up real good decision-wise.

[suth-sardian]

begged my friend to read Aurum’s POV and i’m desperately hoping she read the wrong chapter

[volfoss]

💐 and 💫 <3

💐- it's gotta be the sugar mountain arc from part 7, like it's just so beautifully done and so so fun to read! I really like the kinda similar arc in jojolion too I love seeing Joshu suffer <3

💫- you get the more recent time of getting into Jojo bc I feel u will bully me over this. So I stopped watching like really early on in SDC and just dropped it until like mid 2020. My friend had been talking about it and I barely remembered anything about it, but I figured ok sure I'll give it a shot one day. What made me actually start watching it again is my friend had sent a pic of mista (who for like MONTHS was just spiderman guy to me bc of his color scheme) and I was like uh no way is this guy actually in the show, those clothes are too insane. So I watched it solely to see if he was really there (he was and I hated him for a while).

[lore-of-the-silvereyes-rwby]

Ironwood Summary

Here we are at last the final conclusion of this long character analysis series, for now. This is mostly going to be my own opinion of the character based on the research I did for the analysis. As well as some ideas of what may happen to the character in future volumes and overall standing of what the character was always meant to be and represent in the rwby narrative. Also keep in mind that this is only an analysis of Ironwood’s character pre Volume 8 so there won’t be any spoilers used in this analysis or summary

(Before we begin i want to thank @spacecapart for his art to be used in this summary as i feel this piece summarizes how i feel about Ironwood)

When I started researching and writing on July 31st 2020  for Ironwood and the months that followed I feel like I have gained a better understanding of what exactly Ironwood’s character was meant to be while making sure my overall opinion of him wasn’t biased but honest and neutral. 

For the most part Ironwood’s life was just sad because, well it was never really his to begin with, since he pretty much had no say in it. Based on what I saw and learned about him with the help of additional lore as well as the current story Ironwood was just a tool and a plot device in the narrative.

He started as a tool for Mantle(pre Atlas) which planted the seeds that made him this cold inhuman person that we see at present due to its old toxic ideologies of imperialism and militarism combined with a Nietzsche's philosophy that survives and thrives through Ironwood once he become a de facto king when Atlas became an official kingdom.

Then he became a tool for Oz to protect and safeguard the current status quo without benefiting from it. Though it was with good intentions Ironwood couldn’t help but feel insulted that he was being restricted and kept in check by someone who does not share his belief or ideals of what he considers right even though they weren't his beliefs or the best to begin with.

Finally after all was said and done he became a tool for the very enemy that he swore to fight and defend against. Due to his toxic upbringing in Atlas and his bitter resentment for Oz he tried to take matters in his own hands only for it to backfire immensely into the events that we see in the show. As I Stated in “The Hero that was never meant to be” Ironwood was more or less the most prominent catalyst for all of the events and conflicts in the show that Salem took advantage of and prospered from simply due to Ironwood’s elitist and violent mindset.

All of this just contributes to Ironwood being a plot device since that he’s essentially just a philosophical mouthpiece for Atlas as the show has somewhat made it clear that he is basically the physical embodiment of Atlas if it were a person with both a voice and need to survive. Which wouldn’t be so bad if Atlas wasn’t the Remnant equivalent of a fasciest imperialist dystopia. Most of Ironwood’s character flaws mostly stem from the fact that his is simply the product of his origins and refusing to change or find a compromise for the better.

Another thing that I believe should be taken into consideration is his overall effect in the plot. Added by how the narrative has been structured with its main conflict I think it's safe to assume that no matter what, Ironwood was always a character that was set to fail ever since his introduction. This is mostly due to the fact that most if not all of his power comes from control and authority over others. As well as his lack of actual experience when it comes to war and conflict. 

As I stated in I am power with my own estimate of Ironwood’s age(47-50) based on his rank’s promotion requirements he has at least 30 years of experience from both his huntsmen and military career: 34 if we were to count his academy days of training. Now you're probably asking; “If he has that many years of experience in his career, then why are you saying he has none?” Well it is quite simple based on 2 factors; his professions and the time that he was born in.

At present he is both Headmaster of Atlas academy and the Atlas equivalent of the joint chiefs of staff of the Military. I think it's logical to assume that Ironwood gained the status of Headmaster first and General later due the needs of Oz. Given the importance of the relics hidden in the academies it would be a pragmatic choice for Oz to ensure that there was always a guardian and supervisor over the vaults as well as training the worlds next gen huntsmen(the agreed upon nuclear deterrent). 

Since his profession shifted from field combat to school administration upon becoming headmaster most if not all of Ironwood’s career from this point on saw very little combat opportunities and would soon be filled with politics once he became General further diminishing his combat skills. Also since Generals are the face of the military they mostly handle diplomatic and public affairs as well as deal with civilian contractors to ensure the military has the resources and gear needed to sustain itself.

This means that Ironwood went from fare soldier, to desk jockey, to financial benefactor throughout the entirety of his 30 year long career. But the two thirds of his later career  basically had no relevant or beneficial experience that would be suited for the war that he had been preparing a long time for. Ironwood’s lack of practical experience is also more damaging when you realize that the very little he did have also wouldn’t be of much help in the first place as well.

This is mostly due to the fact that Ironwood was born at the beginning of the high golden age of peace and prosperity for Mantle/Atlas and all of the concerning conflicts happening at least 5 years before the show’s start very late in his career at an estimated age of 45, with the white fang terrorists groups targeting SDC assets that he wanted for war. 

Also his career at that point most likely focused on policing and enforcing Atlasian laws rather than doing actual combat and even then he was trained to fight grimm instead of human combatants and even if he had to fight people they most likely are that of combat inexperienced and petty criminals that wouldn’t actually put up that much of a challenge and even then most of the fighting was done by disposable robots that he can command  with the press of a button.

Overall Ironwood was really unprepared to even fight anyone in general, let alone wage a war against Salem. Even if he had powered up that army to the maximum it really wouldn’t solve anything. Ever since the first episode of the series the message was clear; You're not going to win with just strength and power alone, but with acts of mercy and honesty. As well as just enjoying the simple things in life and just simply living life rather than just surviving. After all this time Ironwood forgot to live life and be satisfied with what he had. Because of this he’s just going to keep on pushing the limit until he loses everything that he has and drag everyone else with him. Simply because he wouldn’t admit to himself that he has no idea about what to do or accept that he wasn’t the most important piece on the board.

Which sadly brings me to the very likely truth that it is guaranteed that Ironwood’s part and time in the story is coming to an end and his death is drawing near. This has been foreshadowed in the beginning of volume 6 where the true plot and crisis of the story had basically made Atlas and by extension Ironwood irrelevant to the story when it's been made clear they can’t just simply kill Salem and win with brute force as he had hoped. Because of that Ironwood was no longer important to the story as they show and fandom have hyped him up to be. Even if he still had an actual role in the plot I’m afraid to say that Ironwood’s story (even if it wasn’t that much) has already been told and judging by the direction he is going by it’s only going to get worse for his character (moraly wise) to the point that his death may be a blessing in disguise for remnant.

To start we need to look at the essential core concepts that make up Ironwood’s character. If we remove all of his actions and focus on his archetypes we get a character that is A) Half robot, B) the de facto leader of an inefficient military(let's be honest it's just a glorified security force for rich douchebags.) C) A school principal and D) someone who essentially hails from what can be considered the most evil and inhuman kingdom of his world that values power and is placed into a story and conflict where none of those things even matter given what we know about the true stakes and consequences of the plot and this is essentially all that we even know about him in relation to the story.

Which brings me to this point that in my opinion he wasn’t much of a character to begin with. This is mostly due to the fact that we really don’t know anything about him besides the summarized 4 points from the last section. We don’t know anything about him like how he became involved in the plot, how old he is, when and what caused him to be a cyber, does he have anyone outside of work or any family that he cares about and more importantly why does he fight in the first place and what motivates him to do so and what does he hope to gain? These details to me are important as to give depth to a character as to better understand why they are the way they are. Otherwise they are either a philosophical mouthpiece or a living ideological caricature. As I stated before in Ironwood’s case he is just that for Atlas, just a simple tool that it can use for whatever it needs.

Which also brings up another subject towards his contributions to the plot; What exactly can he do and was he really even that important to begin with? As I stated before Ironwood really doesn’t have much to offer besides the Military which has been proven to be useless and unneeded. But if it was to be needed that doesn’t automatically mean Ironwood should be the one leading it. For example should he be removed from power and replaced and the heroes really need the military wouldn’t it be simple just to involve the new commander and chief or appoint someone they can trust to ally with them. So yeah the military part as well as the academy are what give an individual like Ironwood any relevance but that doesn't automatically mean they’re that important or crucial to begin with.

Simply put Ironwood has always been a character in the wrong genre. Had he been placed in any other circumstance he may have had a point and could have succeeded but in the case of his story he doesn’t have one. Ever since his debut he has always been this source of contradictions and antagonism and contrast when it comes to how the world and characters have been set. Due to this Ironwood has always been this source of escalation and conflict as he only follows his own beliefs and tries to force others to comply with them. As well as the truth that he really has no idea of what to do since he was never really prepared to handle anything like this and added by the fact that he won’t admit or consider the possibility that he is not that needed or important. If he continues on with this type of thinking it's only going to warrant his end as simply put by Oscar he really is just as dangerous as Salem.

Before I explain his overall purpose and status in the Narrative I want to go over several ideas for what may be next for Ironwood throughout the rest of the series which will be explained further by the reasoning I will use in the narrative part. 

Fate and status for Volume 8 and the rest of the series

Death

I think it's safe to say that Death flags have been hovering over Ironwood for a while or at least since Volume 7. But is it certain? Most likey. I say it’s near mostly due to my belief that his story has essentially been told and he really doesn’t have anything left to contribute to the plot at this point. The impact of his death whether it will leave a positive or negative impact remains uncertain. But the way of his death to me is certain; he’s going to die by the hands of another character(specifically a hero). I know most people would have hoped for a heroic sacrifice or a redemption by death but I don’t exactly see Ironwood doing such things. (Which I’ll explain in the next 2 bullet points)

If it hasn’t been made clear Ironwood has made more enemies than allies simply due to his inability to compromise or let go of his Atlasian ideals and ego. As well as his refusal to accept the fact that he really isn’t that important or necessary in this conflict or at least in the way he wanted to be. If he further descends into his own little world Ironwood is going to cause more problems and do more damage that can never be undone and the only way to stop it would be if he was out of the picture. Because of this Ironwood is likely to die in V8 or by the end of the Atlas arc but it is also possible that he may die at another point later in the series.

Redemption Arc

The chances for Ironwood’s redemption are slim but they’re there, but probably not in the usual way that everyone expects to happen. To help clarify the possibility of redemption we will be using the trifecta structure of redemption arcs. This includes; How the character sees himself, how they see the world, and the stakes and how they change over time. As well as the Scale and Values of his motivation. To help better understand let us take a look at Ironwood’s motivations and goals from V2 and how they contrast and differ from V7 Ironwood.

Volume 2 Ironwood’s motivations upon first glance are simple; stop the threat and ensure stability and security. However if you watch closely there is an ulterior motive. From this we can determine the true Values of his goals and the Scale of what he is willing to do to achieve them and they go as such;

His values as of V2 are security via large Military foundations and amassing complete control and influence over forign nations while promoting the agendas of Atlas imperialism.(similar to the Galactic empire in its early years from Star Wars) With the scale showing that he is willing to go to such lengths as propaganda and political manipulation and betraying allies to get what he wants(the greatest example of this being subverting control from Ozpin)

From this we know that Ironwood sees himself as this perfect savior that can do no wrong and should be the one in charge. While his views of the world being that everything is below him unless they match those of Atlas. With the stakes at the time being the possibility of losing imperial expansion and the threat of domination from a superior force that could shatter the foundations of his ideology and culture. 

While Volume 7 Ironwood’s motivations being; whatever it takes to preserve his perfect and ideal society even if it means sacrificing everything else before his valued culture is destroyed.

The values of this Ironwood definitely differ from previous versions of the character. As V7 Ironwood’s motivations have shifted from saving lives and defending them from Salem to preserving the very little bastion of control and authority that he has over Atlas. With the scale showing that he is willing to turn on allies and go as far as to abandon a whole heavily populated city and potentially the rest of the world in order to preserve the one thing that he has complete and unconditional control over.

Because of this a lot of Ironwood’s views have changed by the end of V7. 

Due to his streak of recent failures his views of himself changed from being the perfect leader that he thought he was, to accepting reality that he isn’t said leader and is prone to failure. However because of that thinking he no longer feels that he should hold himself to that set standard anymore and do what he thinks is needed to get his desired results. Which leads to the fact that he still views himself as the one that should be in charge but this time he does not feel compelled to be fair or considerate of either allies or people.

His views of the world really haven’t changed as much. He is just more honest, open and direct about his views by V7’s end where it's pretty clear that he values his military industrial complex that is Atlas over people's lives regardless of their affiliation.(It should be noted that Mantle is still apart of the Kingdom of Atlas as a whole so consider the fact that he is abandoning the part of it he deems is an acceptable loss without even trying to save it)

But the greatest and significant of changes for Ironwood in the plot are the stakes. Prior to being told the truth about Salem’s immortality he honestly thought that he could win and kill her and be free to pursue whatever task he could set his mind to now that she was gone. After being told and with the clear indication that his power(Atlas) was at risk he essentially is doing what raven did; cut his losses and settle with what he has and run. As such the stakes for Ironwood at this point are to preserve the very little power and control that he has currently at his disposal and sacrifice and do whatever he can’t to maintain it even if it means letting the rest of the world die or be under Salem's control.

This is just speculation but Ironwood’s chances for redemption are pretty slim but not impossible. But the key start and major factors to make that redemption possible is for him to yield power and let go of Atlas. As I stated before, Ironwood relies heavily on his control over Atlas as he believes it to be the only means to maintain and sustain a war as well as the only way of  enforcing his authority. To reiterate Ironwood true power and relevance to the story is his complete and unchallenged command over the Kingdom of Atlas and at the risk of sounding cliche; “All who obtain power are afraid to lose it even a hero” If there is to be any hope of defeating Salem and or maintaining peace in Remnant it can not happen with Ironwood being in power. Which may be more difficult than it seems which leads us to the possibility that he may not be redeemed and should he live past the Salem conflict with this type of thinking.

A New Enemy

For a character to be redeemed the character needs to want change for better but given his personality and recent events Ironwood at this point doesn’t feel or believe that he should change as he now has an ends justify the means mentality with the belief that he is this grand savior believing his way is the only way. Because of this it is very likely that he may stay an antagonist throughout the remainder of the series and possibly long after the main conflict.

The Third Faction; Okay I think it's a safe bet to say that no matter what Atlas was always going to be an antagonistic force that was being set up as early as V1. And unfortunately for Ironwood he ended up being the face and voice of said force that was there before he was ever given a name or a design.

Because of this setup it is possible that Atlas under Ironwood will become its own faction that may try to counter salem but at the same time will possibly sabotage the allies aka the main heroes and the rest of remnant since Ironwood’s paranoia has increased to the point that he doesn’t trust anyone anymore and most likely will reject any offer of aid or promise of an alliance  since Ironwood believes his in own hype that much that he will eventually become a problem that has to be stopped which will possibly lead to the end of Atlas. Which brings us to what might happen to the character post Salem and Atlas.

Post Salem Insurgency; This is speculation but it's possible that after Salem is defeated and Atlas is destroyed he would continue to be a threat for the rest of Remnant as he will be forced to answer for war crimes and step down from power with the possibility that he may never obtain it again. 

Given what we know of his personality Ironwood isn’t the type of guy to yield power or think he did anything wrong due to his ends justify the means montra. As such in the years following Salem's defeat and the possibility that Atlas may no longer exist or at the very least no longer subservient to Ironwood’s authority its most likely that he might end up in charge of a paramilitary consisting of the very few soldiers that are still loyal to him and start raiding and terrorizing settlements, cities and kingdoms all over remnant just to rebuild his military complex and infrastructure as a means to reclaim the status and power that he was stripped up.

How and why any of this would happen if it ever does is debatable but should it come to be Ironwood is going to need to compensate in order to survive if he becomes a legitimate threat which brings us to a very likely scenario based on his original inspiration 

Full Cyber

Given what happened near the end of V7 and recent V8 concept renders combined with the Tin-man inspiration I do believe that there is a very likely scenario that Ironwood will be more machine than man at some point in the series assuming he doesn’t die yet. This is pretty much a given scenario due to his favoritism for machines than people and his new found ideology that humanity is weakness now it is very likely when given the chance that Ironwood will willingly become full cybernetic(Possibly to the point of just simply being a brain in a new metal body)

 While this isn’t exactly an ideal outcome for the character but at the same time this would actually make Ironwood a credible threat as he would now be able to enforce his authority on his own now without relying on others to do it for him. Based on the research from the I am power post Ironwood is relatively a very weak character in comparison to a majority of other characters that we have seen so far and this is especially true when compared to the villains and main heroes. One key aspect to remember is that Remnant didn’t need the military only Ironwood did because on his own he’s screwed no matter what the situation.

Ironwood relies to heavily on his Army as it is the only thing that gives him some ambiance of a fighting chance but ultimately he is very ill suited to lead and manage said army that when you think of it are possibly full of people that are probably more capable than him as well as able to back up and defend their position of power on their own. Whereas Ironwood can not if he were to be overthrown by the military. In other words a fully cyberized Ironwood would actually be beneficial for him as it would make him a formidable threat beyond just simply being the guy who has the world's only military. Depending on what kind of enhancements he can get he would at least be on par with characters like Ruby Qrow and Yang and at the very best on the level of pre maiden Penny. Because as he is right now Ironwood would surely die if he were to face any character that is not within his capabilities. But this is my theory and observations but until we see more Ironwood’s best bet is going full cyber.

Role in the narrative & what we can learn from Ironwood

To start I think it's pretty clear that Ironwood in narrative is just a foil for most of the characters in the show. Especially with greater comparisons and emphasis on these 3 characters; Ozpin Ruby & Salem. While at the same time he is also the character representation that embodies Atlas the most and as such much about what we know and learned about Atlas is mostly due to Ironwood’s actions as he is the culmination and development of Atlasian culture. Unfortunately though this as far as his character was ever going to go. Which makes it all the more tragic and sad when you think about the role that he was supposed to serve.

We will first be breaking down each Foil comparison between Ironwood and the 3 prominent characters to plot as to better under his place in the narrative.

Ozpin

Of all the characters that exist in the RWBY story I do believe that Ironwood tried to emulate and be his own version of Ozpin(or any past incarnation). However unlike Ozpin Ironwood is biased, lacks actual experience and above all takes shortcuts to get faster results at the expense of others. I know that this mostly stems from good intentions but what exactly qualifies Ironwood to even think that he should be the one in charge to handle this Salem conflict. This is one of the greatest problems that is addressed in the show about Ironwood. He really believes that it's his destiny to lead by replacing Ozpin and win.

 But I ask again; What exactly can Ironwood do that would qualify him to even be worthy to take up Ozpin’s task?

That's just it really, there is nothing about him to warrant such a thing. When it comes to the foils between the 2 it's about being this Big Good character that should lead and the themes of Grey morality that R.T. has tried to implement into the show. But when it comes down to it Ozpin is the true Big Good while Ironwood was simply a pretender. Ironwood has always been a narrowed focused character that cares about the conflict itself instead of the people that are caught in the crossfire. And unlike Ozpin who has based all of his decisions and plans from experience and human nature, Ironwood had based his for a need to simply be right and in control.

In short Ironwood had wanted to be the next Oz as he believed he was more suited to do what Ozpin couldn’t even though he lacked the skills, experience, and power to do so which brings us to the next foil. 

Ruby Rose

This might be stretching a bit but when it comes to the plot there is no greater foil between characters than who is the real hero of the story. In this case is the hero of the series Ironwood or Ruby? To help answer this inquiry we need to know what exactly a hero is. Webster's dictionary defines a hero as a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent, endowed with great strength or ability.

While other sources would say what qualifies  A hero can be as simple as a person that saves lives and stuff, but a hero can be anyone that does something they have fear of but are brave enough to still do something. Bravery is usually the biggest trait of any hero. This person has usually overcomes huge obstacles to survive or to rescue others.

A hero is selfless, a genuinely good person, and someone gets the undivided attention of all of us and causes change.

A hero takes action to help others at considerable risk to themselves, however, if that action also helps themselves, then they are not a hero because they are acting out of self-interest. Courage is admirable, but unless it involves risk or sacrifice in order to help others, then it isn't heroism.

So in short the true hero of the series is actually Ruby not Ironwood or any other character in the series. Not because she is one of the main characters or because this is a story from her perspective but because she has the ideal and pragmatic skills and abilities needed to handle the current situation of the plot as well as doing what Ironwood has failed to do himself confront fear and be brave. As I stated in paranoia over reason most if not all of his choices have been based on fear rather than actual logic, reason, or bravery. Which is further highlighted by facts discussed in I am power that Ironwood is really nothing without the military and doesn’t stand a chance on his own.  

This is indefinitely a stark contrast to ruby as she has proven since her introduction to be capable of handling the threat of Salem as she has the talents skills abilities power and above all the spark that inspires others that compels them to do great things for the right reasons which Ironwood failed to do as all of his action have had a certain goal that would only benefit a certain few with him being the one who would benefit the most. This is mostly due to how the 2 have responded and chose to handle the situation. 

When it comes down to it the main plot is defeating monsters that dominate the world who happen to have a leader controlling them. Remember the whole reason why Salem is even a credible threat is because she can control said monsters and the first premise before she came on screen for the first time was learning how to fight grimm. This is something that Ruby was training and preparing for since she was a kid with the added bonus of having the powers needed to handle the situation with ease while Ironwood has only been preparing for a war with other people rather than monsters and crush rebellions rather than being a guardian peacekeeper that Oz meant for him to be.

 Because of this Ironwood has contributed more to the problem more so than Ruby did as his actions were done in favor of Atlas and his own self interests were as Ruby makes honest mistakes out of ignorance and optimism. Which brings me to the next foil that Ironwood shares more qualities with than anyone else

Salem

I know I'm going to get a lot of heat for this but if you think about it Ironwood is basically a syfy dictator version of Salem’s fantasy dark lord. Face value it doesn’t seem likely but given what we know about their current lore, history, personally, and world building these two can be twins to some extent. The examples are as followed;

They’re both headstrong and blunt individuals who go too far in their endeavors when simple and easier solutions were present

They’re both isolated however Salem is isolated by circumstance and force while Ironwood is isolated by choice and paranoia which is ironically the results of their cold upbringing and history

They both lead organizations with questionable intentions that border on dark and immoral with goals that are based on self entitlement rather than rightfully justified or earned

And to top it off they essentially command armies of soulless killing machines

From these examples we have plenty of foils between the two with them being pride, isolation, tragedy, authority and probably the most important foil in regards to the plot War & Conflict. However when it comes down to it Ironwood is on the short end of these foils when compared to Salem. 

In terms of tragedy these two have let their past misfortunes dictate and influence their decisions resulting in a sense of entitlement that they have been wronged now the world has to compensate them for things to be right. For Salem she had a cruel upbringing for unknown reasons and life being unfairly cruel while Ironwood was lifely forced into servitude and was never really himself as he wanted to be. Salem’s tragedies are the result of grief and dealing with forces that she couldn’t comprehend. While Ironwood’s is the result of unchecked ambition and ignorance.

Similar to Oz, Salem has more experience being a leader that can exert their authority and will over others while Ironwood lacks the experience and therefore can’t do the same. The Grimm under Salem’s command are more of an oppressed hivemind that she leads with little to no resistance unlike her human subordinates. Thus Salem has more direct control and authority over those she commands and has the abilities necessary to keep them in line with her goals. While the people under Ironwood’s authority have a voice and mind of their own that don’t align with his ideas. Due to this he isn’t much of a respected leader as he thought he was. Because of this Ironwood is mostly kept in power by rules and regulations with everyone blindly following suit. 

 As for war Ironwood was without a doubt unprepared for it. This is mostly due to 4 reasons;

He had no idea of what he was doing

His opponents are of better a quality than anything he can make or round up

He was preparing for the wrong war that should never have come to pass.

He was to prideful and sure of himself that nothing can go wrong

When it comes to the 1st reason Ironwood was more or less a pseudo soldier in a time where militaries are pretty much obsolete. This is because militaries are used as power projection of a nation and convey the message to another nation to not cross them. Due to the timing there was no real reason or excuse to justify having a military during a point in time where people are more interested in developing a culture and living life rather than fighting in needless conflicts. As such there was no practical reason, competition, or threat to justify Ironwood’s demands for a large military when he came to power or ensure that it was of a better quality than whatever hypothetical enemy that he would face.

Salem on the other hand has had experience commanding armies before and probably has instigated several wars and conflicts prior to the founding of the current 4 kingdoms thus Salem would have at least accumulated centuries to millenniums of war experience that surpass Ironwood’s brief 30 years of service in the Atlas military. Given that Salem was already a crafty and manipulative person during a time when gods were still around, she most likely would have seen the mistakes and flaws that Ironwood has made and exploited them.

Leading into the 2nd reason Ironwood was pretty much in command of a terrible military. As stated in the 1st reason there was no real threat or competition that encouraged those in power besides Ironwood to remilterze. As well as the current military most likely being filled with people who don’t want to fight a war and most likely enlisted for economic reasons. Because of this and his paranoia Ironwood had to find a surrogate army to prepare for his war that in his mind could happen at any time. However this resulted in cheaply made Androids that can be assembled fast for quick deployment. Due to this Ironwood traded quality for quantity as not only was no one going to fight in his war but believed war was on its way soon. Out of misplaced desperation Ironwood hastily assembled a low quality army that never stood a chance.

In comparison to Salem’s main military force there aren’t that many differences. However the Grimm are slightly a better quality than what the Atlas military has to offer. This is mostly due to the fact that the Grimm are a semi sapient species that are capable of learning and adapting as well as possessing some level of self preservation with individual grimm being around longer than most of their kind becoming even more deadlier than them. While the androids that Atlas uses aren’t as they were made to be cheap and disposable and are mostly effective in large numbers. 

The 3rd reason for why Salem is doing well during this conflict with Ironwood is mostly due to the General preparing for the wrong type of war than the war that he is actually fighting in. After all is said and done Ironwood has solely been preparing for a war with other people rather than for monsters. This is because the Atlas military before Ironwood took charge wasn’t meant to fight a war. Not all militaries are formed or created to defend the people. Atlas is the type of military that serves only in favor of the best interest of the state of government rather than the people. 

Because of this Ironwood had spread misery and divided the people turning them into enemies. Salem would later take advantage of this division that Ironwood created as he was more focused preparing for war than managing the welfare of his citizens. This is speculation but most if not all of the weapons like penny and the Atlesian knights were solely made to fight human opponents as opposed to the grimm that Salem commanded. This is because Ironwood feared and distrusted people more than the monsters he fought.

The 4th and final reason why Ironwood never stood a chance is due to the fact that he believed in his own hype more than he should have. From key dialogues to certain character interactions and in universe lore Ironwood has always presented himself as this towering figure with unlimited power; A god among men so to speak. This shows us that ultimately Ironwood’s ego and pride have been inflated to the point that his overall common sense is non-existent. This is further explored and shown in the control tactics that he uses specifically these ones; Strength and Intimidation in Numbers; 

Some aggressors like to dominate a situation by having a number of associates or friends present to support their position. The superior numbers alone may constitute an intimidating presence. They can also back each other up and challenge an individual in turn during a proceeding. In addition, they may also put pressure on a person to make a decision before they're ready. At worst, the strength in numbers tactic may be used for direct or indirect bullying or harassment.

Ironwood's overall strategy is simply sowing fear and doubt into an enemy that he doesn’t understand with large and unnecessary shows of power wasting resources to cover a wide variety of unknown enemies that pose a threat to him regardless if they are with Salem or not. This is best seen with the thousands to millions of cheaply made androids that are only effective in large numbers and the one ship of the line that was too big to be suited for warfare as they function as more of a forward operating base with their great size giving them the intimidation factor without other supporting fleet vessels like frigates or corvettes.(FYI by my count from V6 ep13 there were at least 41 of those ships hovering above Atlas doing nothing)

This is even confirmed by Ironwood in V3 ep3 where he claims this to be the case with this line of dialogue; 

“The people of Vale needed someone to protect them, someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength.”

This sort of tactic would probably have been useful if it was applied in a conventional warfare plot with people being his opponent as this is a real life tactic used in militaries and the navy especially in the modern era. The problem however is that the plot isn’t about conventional warfare nor is it a battle between people but with monsters where these tactics are meaningless  to them. These tactics are ineffective when compared to Salem’s psychological hit & run terror tactic being used in a setting like RWBY’s are quite effective and more useful than anything Ironwood can come up with. Even though they rely on opportunity and time to become a practical threat the end result is a huge payoff to the one who applied them with that being Salem. 

To sum it up when it comes to the foils of war between these 2 characters all you really need is the right tactic, strategy or plan and everything falls into place regardless of whether you have an army or a handful of misfits all it takes is careful thought and patience something of which Ironwood has shown to be lacking.

In conclusion what we learn from these foils are Leadership, Heroism, and War and how no matter what Ironwood was always on the short end of these traits and was never going to reach his ideal scenario for each of these ideas as he had set high expectations that were well above his capabilities and now he’s paying the price.

The Atlas Meta Narrative’s influence on Ironwood

Based on my research and what I have stated before; the greatest source of Ironwood’s flaws and antagonism is largely due to the influences of his home kingdom; Atlas. 

Just like Ironwood Atlas is also a foil setting and culture to the other kingdoms and the rest of Remnant. The reasoning for this is best explored in the established lore and other expanded material. To help better understand, here is a brief summarized history and development of the Kingdom of Atlas;

Before Atlas came to be it first started as Mantle who began as a group of desperate people trying to survive. Taking advantage of the cold climate of Solitas they were safe from the Grimm and had an unknown amount of time to develop both their technology and culture without restraint or interference. Eventually this progress was stalled due to a Grimm incident in Mantle that forced the current leaders of the kingdom to make radical and unnecessary regulations that suppress basic human emotions and rights instead of putting the effort to protect the people. 

When the Great war started Mantle joined only to ensure that its like minded imperialist ally Mistral would supply them the resources needed to survive. Because of this and the extreme measures they enforced on their citizens to control them prior to the war Mantle was most likely considered the most evilest faction during the war. When the war came to an end with Mantle suffering an embarrassing defeat it led to an age of cultural segregation and discrimination upon Mantle in the post war era.

Following the war Mantle entered an age of isolation and economic depression due to distrust and suspicion from the other kingdoms as they would only view them as this inherently evil and tyrannical force that can’t be trusted. Because of this the lingering scar of the toxic ideology of pre-war Mantle survived and is echoed in its spiritual successor; Atlas where it continued what Mantle couldn’t survive and thrive under the same core ideology that they had 80 years ago when they were still Mantle with only minor changes made to prevent the other kingdoms to intervene and possibly destroy their so called perfect culture. 

After they lost a scar had remained and an echo was created that still lingers to the present. Due to cause and effect Atlas at its core was developed to be this amoral conservative xenophobic dystopia that was being led by corrupt individuals that were in pursuit of their own self-interests rather than serving their citizens and were kept in power by blind followers that couldn’t see their real intentions. As a result Atlas became a culture of exploitation, expansion, repression, and subjugation for the well being of the political entity that is the state at the expense of its people and others. 

In relation to Ironwood as I stated before is a byproduct of this system and is simply one of a long line of blind followers that eventually supplanted the leadership and chose to continue the machine that is Atlas and replaced cogs needed to keep it running as he was once forced to do throughout his life because he doesn’t know of anything else. 

Because of this upbringing and the history of his origins Ironwood was more or less viewed as indifferent in the eyes of his own people and evil in the eyes of others. Leading to a clash of beliefs within Ironwood that resulted in conflicts with others and the main meta narrative theme that we were meant to learn from him; The essence of Being.

The Essence of Being

Essence is defined as the core nature or most important qualities of a person or thing. Essentially the narrative lesson that we can learn from Ironwood is the age old lesson that has been echoed from R.T. longest running series but with a more individual focus. That's right, Ironwood's journey and arc in the story is an inverse and modification of the classic RVB question; “Do you ever wonder why we're Here.”

But in the case of Ironwood it's more focused on an individual person asking and the age old question of Why am I here and what is my purpose and how do they justify and understand it.

As I stated before Ironwood was simply the wrong character in a different genre from a writing and story perspective. But in universe from the perspective of Ironwood it's simply a matter of him asking; “Why am I alive and here, and why am I this instead of that in a world like this?” At some point everyone questions the reality and circumstances of their situation and it's probably common questioning on a world, setting, and reality like Remnant. For Ironwood it’s possible that he’s asked these questions more than anyone. As for the reasons why he would question his existence go as follow;

Why was I born in Atlas?

How do I prove I'm good when others think I’m evil by proxy? 

Why I’m I so weak when compared to more skilled & powerful people?

Why was I made to be reliant on others that can’t rely on themselves?

I’m I respected only for the rank or the man?

Does anyone really care about me or I’m I being used by sycophants?

Will anyone care when I’m gone?

Why won’t anyone give me a chance?

How do I justify and understand the reasons why I'm here?

Does any of this matter in the end?

The core of Ironwood’s journey, actions, motives, and story wasn’t about saving the world, the balance of grey morality of people, or even the preservation of a certain culture, but instead is about cementing a legacy to escape the harsh reality that everything we do will eventually be undone. It's such a freighting thing to fall but is even more freighting is to admit it

In a way Ironwood's story is somewhat relevant to this line from Monty Oum in regards to immortality; “The goal isn't to live on forever; it's to make something that does.” CRWBY has even stated that Ironwood is a forward thinking individual/ A dreamer if you would. Because of this Ironwood was more focused on where he was heading rather than focus on where he was and what he was doing Causing a lot of problems to happen and escalating events to the point that we see them in the shows present. This oversight and negligence is because he continued to believe that, like everything else in his life, it would be righted by the sheer force of his will.

But sadly he is just only one man put on the world for a brief moment of time that is rather minuscule and insignificant on a cosmic and meta level. Everything changes and legacies are either forgotten or are repeated. In the end time and death are the ultimate victors as they undo everything and the cycle repeats itself for better or worse and individuals like Ironwood are just caught in the middle repeating and doing the same thing that has probably already happened and will probably happen again. All it takes is just a matter of time.

My Thoughts and conclusion

For the most part I was pretty much cautious when it came to the character and felt that he was more or less a side character trying to be a main one. The problem with that however in my thoughts is that well he doesn’t really have much to go on to warrant such a status. As well as how the plot has been structured Ironwood was never going to get what he wants. He may have had good intentions but at the end of the day he is only human with his own wants and needs.  

Overall I do feel that his part in the story is over. Mostly because he tried to take the lead of it. Meta understanding aside Ironwood’s time is coming to an end and I hate to say it but it probably would be for the best. Not just everyone else in the show but for himself as well. As I stated Ironwood’s life is Sad because well it never was really his to begin with. It's illogical because he was ill equipped to be a part of the setting that he was in. His death is more than guaranteed because he has nothing left to contribute to the story that can’t be done by anyone else. At this point with the overall message of death in the show it would be mercy and relief for Ironwood as Death is not the worst thing that can happen to you.

I still hold hope though as I’ve come to understand and see why people are fascinated by his character. But for that hope to be possible Ironwood has to let go of Atlas as it has been the main source of conflict between him and everyone else.

Well that's it I’m done for now as this is an analysis of Pre V8 Ironwood and maybe after V8 I may add more research of V8 Ironwood and see how much i got right in the initial analysis. After doing this I hope to do an analysis on Qrow Branwen and other RWBY characters hopefully in a much shorter amount of time as opposed to the months it took me to do Ironwood.(then again this was my first character analysis) Until then be on the lookout for additional bonus content for Ironwood such as;

Character comparisons from fiction

Character comparisons IRL

How you can fight & Kill Ironwood

A more indepth look of his new cybernetics

What Ironwood should have done

His relationship with other characters

The possibility of an Ironwood spin-off

That's all for now. Let me know what you think and thank you all who helped made this analysis possible.

[fatehbaz]

Sources for thousands of Detroit residents without water access for years; Detroit lead poisoning; history of how Nestle conquered Michigan water; and how Flint residents pay the state more in utility fees in a single month for water access in a single household than Nestle pays the state in an entire year to extract 130 million gallons of water.

A response to this:

I hope these sources might help.

Just for geographic context:

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Nestle, which earns over $7 billion in annual bottled water sales, pays a once-a-year $200 administrative fee to extract over 130 million gallons of water from Evart, while people are poisoned and die in nearby Flint, where a single months’ water utility bill is over $200.

[Source: Jessica Glenza. “Nestle pays $200 a year to bottle water near Flint -- where water is undrinkable.” The Guardian. 29 September 2017.]

Flint became synonymous with lead-poisoned water after government officials, looking to save money, switched the city’s water supply from Detroit city water to water from the corrosive Flint river. Once the city had switched, the number of children with elevated lead exposure doubled; residents reported unexplained rashes and losing hair. An unpublished study recently found fetal deaths in Flint increased by 58% during the crisis. [...] Despite having endured lead-laden tap water for years, Flint pays some of the highest water rates in the US. Several residents cited bills upwards of $200 per month for tap water they refuse to touch. But just two hours away, in the tiny town of Evart, creeks lined by wildflowers run with clear water. The town is so small, the fairground, McDonald’s, high school and church are all within a block. But in a town of only 1,503 people, there are a dozen wells pumping water from the underground aquifer. This is where the beverage giant Nestle pumps almost 100,000 times what an average Michigan resident uses into plastic bottles that are sold all over the Midwest for around $1. To use this natural resource, Nestle pays $200 per year. Now, Nestle wants more Michigan water. In a recent permit application, the company asked to pump 210 million gallons per year from Evart, a 60% increase, and for no more than it pays today. [...] In a state where officials denied Flint’s water was poisoned with lead; where Detroit residents choose between heat and water; where the water-borne, pneumonia-like legionnaire’s disease killed a dozen; and where gastrointestinal bugs spread among residents who lacked (or didn’t trust) water, Nestle’s request seemed like salt on a wound.

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While thousands in Detroit have no water access, even people with water access have high rates of lead poisoning; in one Detroit zip code in 2017, 22% of tested children exhibited lead poisoning.

[Source: Karen Bouffard and Christine MacDonal. “Detroit kids’ lead poisoning rates higher than Flint.” The Detroit News. 14 November 2017.]

Detroit had Michigan’s highest proportion of children test positive for lead poisoning in 2016 — 8.8 percent of kids tested — including one ZIP code where 22 percent were found to have lead poisoning. Data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services show children are being sickened by lead in counties from Manistee to Hillsdale and St. Clair, though the rates of lead poisoning in Flint continue to improve.

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In 2020,  Michigan institutions and judges continue to allow Nestle to pay minor administrative fee of $200 per each water extraction facility, as Nestle extracts over half a million gallons every single day from single individual wells (ie: just one annual fee of $200 for the Evart well).

[Source: Garret Ellison. “Nestle wins legal challenge to Michigan groundwater extraction.” MLive. 28 April 2020.]

A state administrative judge has upheld a permit that allows global food and beverage giant Nestle to boost the amount of Michigan groundwater it extracts for sale under the Ice Mountain bottled water brand. In a decision dated April 24 [2020], Judge Dan Pulter ruled that Nestle’s plans to withdrawal 576,000 gallons of groundwater per day from the headwaters of two cold water trout streams in Osceola County will not negatively impact the surrounding natural resources. Concerns were raised about potential impacts to Muskegon River watershed and the tiny $200 annual paperwork fee Nestle pays per facility to extract millions of gallons of Michigan groundwater to sell for profit. [...] Much of the broader opposition was from those upset that Nestle could source groundwater at essentially no cost while people in Flint were drinking water contaminated by bacteria and lead, and low-income residents of Detroit were having their taps shut off for non-payment.

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Nestle pumped over 2.5 billion gallons from a Mescota County well; Nestle has now pumped over 1 billion gallons from the Evart wells; the Osceola well now supplies millions of gallons a year.

[Source: Garret Ellison. “Nestle in Michigan: Unpacking the water battle backstory.” MLive. 26 December 2016. Updated 20 May 2019.]

Nestle made a deal [...] to drill four high-capacity wells at their 600-acre private hunting preserve in Morton Township [...]. The water is pumped 12 miles west to Stanwood. [...] The Sanctuary wells pumped more than 2.5 billion gallons between 2005 and 2015. [...] Nestle pumped at 400 gallons-per-minute until Mecosta County Judge Lawrence Root ordered it stopped in 2003 [...]. When Judge Root ordered the pumping stopped, Nestle looked north for another supply. The company found a willing partner in the city of Evart, which has sold Nestle more than 905 million gallons of Twin Creek spring water [...]. Evart wells have accounted for roughly a quarter of Nestle's total Michigan supply since 2005, but in 2014 Nestle discovered traces of perchlorate in its water. The toxic chemical, which is linked to thyroid problems in women and children, came from the Evart well field, which became contaminated with decades of Fourth of July fireworks ash. [...] When Nestle shut down one of its Evart wells because of the pollution, it looked to offset the capacity loss by increasing the pumping rate of an older well it owns in Osceola Township, [...] Nestle did not really use it much until 2011. Since then, the well has supplied more than 45 million gallons. Almost 70 percent of that total volume was pumped in 2015 alone.

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To gain uninhibited access to water extraction sites, Nestle merges with local government institutions and deliberately targets rural, isolated, or “economically-depressed” communities.

[Source: Franklin Frederick. “Nestle: Multinationals as the New Colonial Powers. A tale of Many Cities.” Defend Democracy Press. 22 December 2019.]

In 2002 Nestle hired John Hedley, an ex-MI6 agent – British military   intelligence – as Head of Security. Among other things, Hedley was   responsible for organizing an operation to spy on civil society groups critical to Nestle in Switzerland, mainly the ATTAC group. When this operation was unveiled by a Swiss investigative journalist that denounced it in the Swiss TV, Nestle had to face a court case and was condemned by the Swiss justice for it. In Wellington County, Nestle Waters Canada has permission to extract 4.7 million litres of water a day in wells at Hillsburgh and Aberfoyle and according to Mike Balkwill from Wellington Water Watchers, “the company has applied to renew those permits, while it extracts water without the consent of Six Nations, on whose territory it operates, and despite public opposition from several indigenous organizations.” [...] The situation is the same in Florida where although the local water authority considers that the water system is in recovery from over-exploitation, Nestle still wants to pump water from Ginnie Springs. The common pattern emerging from these and other cases – in the State of Michigan or in the small city of Sao Lourenco in Brazil – also shows that [...] in many places Nestle “merges” with the local authorities, as in Maine where a Nestle manager was on the State’s environmental protection agency board [...]. Recently, the ex-Nestle’s Head of Public Affairs, Christian Frutiger, was appointed Vice-Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation – SDC, the Swiss Government Agency responsible for Development Aid programmes – where he will be responsible for SDC’s  Global WATER program! [...]

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The source of America’s corporate water crisis can be traced back to 1976 when Perrier, now owned by Nestle, opened an office in New York. By 2016, bottled water sales had surpassed soda as the largest US beverage category [...]. Nestle Waters’ 2018 worldwide sales exceeded $7.8 billion. [...] Ultimately, the debate’s particulars lead back to a question at the heart of the issues: should water be commodified and sold by private industry, or is it a basic human right? Former Nestle chief executive and chariman Peter Brabeck labeled the latter viewpoint “extreme” and  called water a “grocery product” that should “have market value.” He later amended that, arguing 25 liters of water daily is a “human right,” but water used [for purposes other than drinking, bathing, etc.] shouldn’t be free. [Source: Tom Perkins. “The fight to stop Nestle from taking America’s water to sell in plastic bottles.” The Guardian. 29 October 2019.]

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Tens of thousands of Detroit residents have been without water access since 2014; Detroit water contaminated with giardia, shigellosis, lead; Detroit administrators refused until the pandemic to even declare the water shutoffs a “public health issue,” and Michigan officials blame poor people for spending money on “luxury cell phones” instead of their water utility bills.

[Source: Nina Misuraca Ignaczak. “Detroit Water Shutoffs and a Crisis of Public Health.” Belt Magazine. 9 March 2020.]

The water crisis in Detroit began in earnest in 2014, during the city’s bankruptcy proceedings, when the DWSD abruptly shut off water service to tens of thousands of Detroit residents for nonpayment. [...] But activists have been fighting for years to get the city to recognize water shutoffs as a matter of public health. [...] Since the start, Bouier and other water activists have been fighting a narrative that assigns blame primarily to those impacted by the shutoffs. Early on, officials perpetuated the idea that residents were simply lazy and irresponsible. One official suggested that Detroiters should go down to the Detroit River with a bucket to fetch water. Then-emergency manager Kevyn Orr suggested that customers would rather pay for “luxuries” like cell phones than water. [...] As of early March [2020], activists had renewed their calls to the governor to enact a moratorium [on water utility shutoffs in Detroit], linking poor sanitation to an increased risk of Coronavirus. “Michigan residents have particular reason to fear the  spread of coronavirus because the ongoing deprivation of tens of thousands of people from basic access to water and sanitation […]” the group’s statement reads. “Residents deprived of water in their homes have been sharing or borrowing water at an alarming  rate – 80% in one study – creating a transmission path for coronavirus, as  well as hepatitis A, shigellosis, campylobacter, and giardia, all of which have been plausibly linked to the shutoffs by health officials.”

[calliecat93]

So… been a while since I did one of these. Yeah, long story short 2020 just ruined my anxiety and a bunch of other things and I just couldn’t handle doing the reviews after I feel so behind during the first half of V8. Even the six-week break didn’t do anything to reignite the motivation or help the anxiety, so I decided it was best to quit and just wait for the volume to be over. Which with how emotionally draining the volume was which may have very well impaired my judgment at the time, was probably the best decision. But V8 has been over for months now and we’re awaiting V9. So it’s time to finally finish this.

I normally do one chapter per review, but since I now know all that’s coming, I’m going to do two chapters per review. That means four total reviews, then a mass V8 review, and then hopefully things go better when V9 starts. So last I left off, we got Cinder backstory, the Ace-Ops running into YJR, and Salem breaking Atlas’ shields to finally go forward with her invasion. The dark times are upon Atlas and our heroes are running out of time. So… what happens now? Well, let's find out.

Overview

I normally break down everything moment by moment, but we’re gonna keep it brief since there’s a lot to cover.

In War as Salem’s attack marches forward, all of our heroes are in a bind. RWB wants to help Atlas while May wants to return to Mantle and points out that they can’t have both. Nora is still in need of a doctor, which causes Whitley, who overheard, to call in a character that we haven’t seen in quite a while. With JYR, they were captured by the Ace-Ops, who has now been tasked to use a bomb to blow up the whale. Our heroes negotiate with Winter to allow them time to go in and rescue Oscar and causes Ren to make an unexpected discovery. Meanwhile, in the whale, Emerald overhears Oscar/Oz again pleading to Hazel to see reason, even going as far as to give him the password to the Lamp. Not for Salem, for Hazel. This causes Emerald’s doubts to become even more concerning and with Mercury leaving with Tyrian for Vacuo and Cinder focused solely on her quest for power, she is left alone to decide what she wishes to do.

In RWBY’s 100th chapter Dark, we are at the Schnee Manor where the power blows out. But when they recall that they have an emergency generator, Whitley realizes that they can use the SDC to get supplies to the Mantle refugees. Ruby and Blake go to restore the power as Ruby is still struggling to maintain her usual optimism, but they encounter a Grimm in the process. Specifically, The Hound. Meanwhile, Penny, who crash-landed in front of the Manor last episode, tries to maintain control as Watts’ virus goes into effect. During the battle, it ends with Ruby discovering The Hound. One that utterly horrifies her…

Review

Okay, there is a LOT to go over with these two chapters, So let’s break this down event by event.

Monstra

Let’s discuss our villains first since we have some pretty major developments. First, we have Hazel. We had just about everything that I had assumed before confirmed. The reason that Hazel works for Salem isn’t merely just because she claims to want a new world order. Honestly, I think that Hazel just fooled himself to justify his decision to himself. No, as he talks to Ozcar, the truth becomes crystal clear. Hazel has given up. He confronted her once, and all that happened was she kept coming back until he was too exhausted to fight anymore. She broke him. Fighting her was futile and by taking advantage of this, Salem set him on the only path that he had left: getting revenge on Ozpin. Even though he’ll reincarnate, he can still be hurt. He can still be killed. He can still suffer. It was all that Hazel had left, and it consumed him.

As much as I know that some had issues with Hazel’s backstory, losing your sibling to circumstances that weren’t really anyone’s fault but you still feel so angry that you just need to blame something is very understandable. I’ve been in that place. I think that many of us have. And to learn that he did try to fight Salem at first but in the end, gave up due to her immortality… can you imagine how many others likely went down that route? Wanting to fight Salem but when the horrible truth came out were left empty? RWBY went through it in V6 and barely recovered, so it’s easy to see where Hazel is coming from. It’s easy to see why he won’t believe Oz when he tells him what Salem’s true goal, the release of death via summoning the Gods judgment, is. Oscar takes over and reveals the password, trusting Hazel to decide for himself what to do. Not Salem, Hazel. Will it pay off? Only time will tell.

But Hazel isn’t the only one privy to this new information. Emerald overheard all of it. Whatever fears that she had were all confirmed. Mercury is dismissive, both not believing it (until Tyrian confirms it) and even if he did, points out that Hazel failed and fell into line. It’s going to take time for the assassin to change his mind. As far as he’s concerned, he’s on top of the world, or at least in the best place that he can be in. Better than when he was with Marcus at least. Emerald though? She’s been doubtful and scared since at least the end of V3, even earlier if we count the flashbacks in Beginning of the End. The only thing that has kept her around along with the fear of Salem has been her devotion to Cinder. But with how Cinder has been coldly dismissive of her thus far this volume and now knowing that she’s part of something far worse than she imagined, it looks like Emerald may be deciding that it’s not worth it anymore. The question is, will she act before it’s too late? With Mercury off to Vacuo, she’s on her own to make that choice.

The villains’ stuff is mainly setup for Chapter 9 but it’s good stuff. We’re getting everything in place for the many payoffs that we’ve been waiting a long time for. Many of us have been hoping for Emerald to defect. While IDT as many have wanted the same for Hazel, he’s certainly the nobler of his buddies and has shown signs of possible redemption, so I’ve been hoping for it. Oz and Oscar’s efforts seem to be paying off and Oscar taking over and playing a huge gamble is pure excellence. It’s both Oz trusting the boy and working in tandem with him showing how he is genuinely trying to be better and showing Oscar’s growth with his more diplomatic skills here. It failed to work on Ironwood, but perhaps this time he’ll have better luck.

JYR and the Ace-Ops

Like with the villains, their stuff is contained all within War. But boy do we have plenty to go over. With Atlas in utter chaos, to the point of all the citizens having to hide in a subway, Ironwood has decided to have Winter and her team bomb Monstra. Which makes sense… except that Oscar’s in there. Needless to say, JYR isn’t happy about that. But Harriet, Elm, and Vine remain committed to their ‘we have no feelings’ routine. Even though it’s so obvious that they’re lying through their teeth. Ren’s Semblance confirmed it, but it’s not hard to tell. Elm and especially Harriet are hiding their feelings through their anger and doubling down on following orders. Vine does try to remain reasonable, but otherwise retains his emotionless demeanor. Marrow… he just clearly doesn't want to be there anymore. He’s still trying to remain comitted to what he’s doing, but this and Chapter 9 are going to be changing that big time

And WInter? Oh Lord Winter. She wants to do the right thing but is bound to her loyalty and duty to Ironwood and Atlas, and she doesn’t know which one to follow. Her orders? Or her heart? The choice may seem like a no-brainer to us, but to Winter it’s more complicated. She feels that she owes Ironwood so much. Because of him and the military, she escaped her father and his control. I think that she does realize that this point that she’s just exchanged one puppetmaster for another, but she doesn't know how to cut the strings. We see some signs of hope, both in the last volume when she allowed Weiss and the others to escape, and here when she grants JYR’s request to go into the whale to find Oscar before the bomb arrives. She knows that if Ironwood finds out she’ll be in trouble. She remains conflicted, but it’s still a signt hat it’s not too late. It allows her (and Marrow forthat mater) to remain sympathetic while others like Harriet… well, they’re not making it easy, let’s leave it at that.

That brings us to Ren. He’s had it hard thus far, his emotional control slipping, his split-off from Nora, and everything that built up the last volume coming crashing down. He’s been pushing everyone away, but now? He can’t afford to do so. Not with Oscar in danger. When Harriet says that teammates are replaceable, he strongly disagrees. He and Jaune would absolutely know how wrong this is. They’ve never replaced Pyrrha after all. Even if one considers Oscar part of JNR, he’s never been considered the new Pyrrha. He’s just Oscar, their friend. When he finally admitted that to himself, it allowed Ren’s Semblance to evolve. Instead of simply masking emotions, he can now see them via colored flower petals. Yes dear readers, Ren is an empath.

This development is perfect/. It happened at the right time, Ren finally admitting his feelings for those that he cares about instead of internalizing them and pushing those people away as he has been with Nora. It’s a natural evolution of his powers. He can mask emotions to protect others from the Grimm, and now that he can take it off he can see beneatht he masks of others. Harriet and Elm’s rage. Vine’s uncertainty (I’m assuming anyways based on what happens later). Marrow’s sadness. Winter’s collection of so many different colored petals, reflecting the war that she is having with herself. Now that Ren is beginning to open up, he can now help others do the same. Semblances reflect the on using them, and I think this says a lot about what Ren is truly meant to be and will be in the future.

Schnee Manor

Now we get to the meat of this post. Let’s go over the events in War first. While our heroes are safe at Schnee Manor, they’re conflicted on what to do. May wants to, and by Dark does, go back to Mantle since things are just as bad there and they don’t have the military to save them. Weiss however? She wants to help Atlas. Despite everything, Atlas is still Weiss’ home and there are still family and innocent people that she wishes to save. She’s a Huntress, that’s her job. May however? Her family dismissed her when she was their son, and she made it very clear that she is in no way their daughter. Which first, that was a brilliant way to add that representation. Kdin confirmed that May was Transgender last volume, but now we have undeniable proof in the show itself and it was perfectly delivered. She also makes a good point, Mantle has no protection. The whole reason that RWBY went against Ironwood was that he chose to leave Mantle to die. At this point, it does seem like the heroes can have it both ways. It worked in the past, but not here. Not anymore. But even May admits as she leaves that at this point, there might not be anythign left to do for either city. It’s just… bleak. Even moreso than in V3.

This of course hits Ruby. Normally, her optimism and hope carry her through. It was practically what got the heroes through V6 alive and well. But now? No. Even she can’t deny how bad things have gotten. When she and Blake go to turn on the backup generator, it’s clear how conflicted she is. She wants to help everyone. She chose to send the message because it seemed like the best chance to save everyone. But the longer that she waits, the more unlikely it all seems. She’s becoming utterly overwhelmed. Honestly, with how 2020 went, I find this very relatable. You w\see all the suffering caused by COVID and the horror of the police brutality against Black people and so many other awful things we’re still in the midst of. You want to do something. You want to help everyone and want things to just be okay. But when you do, all of it weighs down on you because you simply can’t help everyone. As Klein said, you can only focus on what’s in front of you first. You feel helpless, scared, maybe even angry. But we’re only human. We can only do what we can a step at a time in whatever way we can, even if it’s just being a shoulder to lean on. It’s at least something.

This leads to something that I have practically been begging CRWBY to do for years now, have Blake comfort her. We’ve had very scarce Ruby and Blake interactions, but it’s always been pretty clear that Blake trusts Ruby and has followed her lead faithfully more or less since the team formed. I think it was very fitting for Blake to be the one who reached out to her as it calls back to when they first talked in Volume 1. Back when Ruby expressed her love of books and wanting to make the world better like the heroes that she would read about. How Blake admired her goal but also viewed it as rather childish. Considering everything with the Faunus oppression, the White Fang, and of course Adam, who could blame her? But Ruby gave her hope. Ruby got her to see that they can make the world better. That despite everything, it’s their job to protect everyone and to move forward. Ruby’s been able to push them ahead so much, and they all still need her. It’s what Ruby needed to hear and it shows how far that both girls have come since those early days at Beacon. Which since this happened in the 100th episode, was very fitting.

Now I’m not gonna say too much about The Hound here. The entire fight scene was awesome and the thing stalking through the Schnee Manor? It somehow felt more horrifying than The Apathy did in Volume 6. How do you manage that?! Whitley and Willow ultimately killing it via the armor was also pretty cool and it’s nice to see the civilian characters getting involved, showing that they don’t have to be helpless like with the ship captain and crew back in Volume 4. Then the final revelation, that The Hound was not only human but had Silver Eyes… yeah Ruby’s reaction could not be more justified. I’m gonna go into my thoughts more in the 11-12 review since Ruby goes more into her feelings there. But the revelations that this one scene caused… yeah, it’s added a whole new level of horror to not just Salem, but the Grimm as a whole. It’s kind of a bummer that The Hound was killed off and it just feels so soon, but with how so much is going on at this point… yeah I’m gonna forgive it especially since the death still leaves a lot to think about in the future.

So let’s talk Schnee family! First, Willow. I like how they handled her here. She’s an anxious mess, which makes complete sense. She has to keep forcing herself to not drink, but without that coping mechanism, she’s so anxious that she ends up running out of Weiss’ room in utter panic. Fortunately, she’s still able to get her act together enough to be of help. She uses the security cameras to warn Weiss and keep an eye on The Hound. Which also allows her to see it heading for Whitley. But instead of waiting on Weiss and since Whitley understandably doesn’t want to listen to her, she does the right thing: act like a mother and save her child. Including actually using her Glyphs to summon a Boarbutusk. Yes, Willow. In a jam-packed volume like this, it’s nice to see these bits of character development for even the minor characters and it was done well here.

Then we have Whitley. I’m gonna admit it, it feels like his change is pretty rushed, but again we have about a million other things going on. Plus I guess the worst situations can bring out the best in people. That’s certainly the case here. He over-hears RWB and May talking and decides to call Klein, who is apparently a doctor, not only a butler (the temptation to NOT make an ‘I’m a doctor, not an X’ joke after getting into Star Trek is REALLY hard XD) to treat Nora. Which Weiss’ reaction to seeing him and him not at all blaming her for being fired was just beautiful. But it’s Whitley making a decision. Not due to his father’s influence. Not to get Weiss’ attention. He did it because Nora needed help and it was simply the right thing to do. The fact that he acted independently makes Weiss so happy that she hugs him. It surprises Whitley… but you can tell that he’s happy about it.

I think that really encouraged Whitley. Jaques isn’t there anymore. There’s no one controlling his fate anymore. It doens’t matter if Whitley defies him now, Jaques can’t do a thing about it. It’s Whitley who realizes that they have the resources and ability to send supplies and help to Mantle. It’s him who goes to his father’s office to get the process underway. Even when The Hound comes in, he still makes sure to give the authorization before making a run for it. With the fear of his father gone and Weiss showing more support, Whitley is showing that he’s not a bad person. He was very much like his sister was; someone trapped and forced to succumb to the toxic influences to survive. He didn’t have the support that Weiss did, nor the skills that either of his sisters had that let them escape. But he’s taking those steps now. He has an attitude still, but he’s kind of where Volume 1-3 Wess was; a major brat but one very much on their way to improving. If Whitey ends up taking over whatever remains of the SDC or outright remakes it, I think that he’ll be a fine leader while his sisters continue as Huntresses.

Finally, we come to Penny. I should probably talk about Nora as well, but since Chapter 11 is when she expresses how she feels ike how Ruby does, I’m going to hold off until then As far as Penny goes… God, I… it just hurts. Knowing how this ultimately will end only makes it more painful to go back through. But just as Chapter 5 made it look like Penny would finally be allowed to choose for herself, Watts ruins all of it. This is a girl who is utterly trapped. Ironwood bound her down by isolating her and then forcing the protection of a whole city on her. Pietro, while well-meaning, was over-protective and allowing that to keep Penny held by her strings. He let go… and look at how it ended. The Maiden Powers, while something that Penny accepted, now has her targeted on all sides and she can’t escape them while bound tot he responsibilities that come with it. Now we have Watts’ virus and despite her best efforts, she can’t stop it.

It’s just… heart-wrenching. Especially when Nora wakes up and calms her down by reminding her that whatever is trying to take over is only a part of her, not the whole being. It works… for a few moments. But in the end, all that Penny can do is succumb. This girl truly has no control over anything. Not over her own life. Not over the abilities that she possesses. And now not even over her own mind and body. She keeps having her strings yanked back and forth, wanting to just snap them off but all her limbs are held in place so she can’t. Watching her act utterly robotic, blankly describing how she will open the Vault then self-terminate… it’s just so wrong. Not to mention her coming dangerously close to being carted off to Salem with only Ruby managing a Silver Eyes blast saving her. It was hard to watch back when these premiered but after the finale? It’s just… it’s just so cruel.

Both of these chapters were excellent. War is mainly a setup chapter and ho boy the event that it sets up for… Chapter 9 is gonna be fun to talk about! But it also had plenty of pay-offs, especially for Ren and great moments like May’s scene, Salem conducting the Grimm, and it just captures the bleakness yet determination of our heroes perfectly. Then Dark… boy is that chapter title appropriate. Again great moments like the Ruby and Blake talk, the entire fight sequence, and probably the most horrifying revelation thus far. There’s some minor stuff like the jailbreak as well that made RWBY’s 100th chapter, as well as the chapter to kick off the return after the six-week hiatus, a thrill to watch. That's not even going into Alex Abraham's spectacular score, especially when the big reveal/death of The Hound happens. Just... it's just perfect. It can feel like there’s just so much going on that it gets hard to keep up with at times… but to be fair, that’s how our heroes feel as well, so I supposed that’s appropriate.

Chapter Stats

War

Favorite Character: Lie Ren

Favorite Scene: Ren unlocking his emotion-reading power

Least Favorite Scene: RWB sipping tea. It’s not a bad scene, but them just kind of standing by while the chaos is going on… it just feels a tad out of place.

Favorite Voice Actor: Kdin Jenzen (May Marigold)

Favorite Animation: Salem conducting the Grimm attack.

Rating: 8/10

Dark

Favorite Character: Ruby Rose

Favorite Scene: Ruby and Blake talk

Least Favorite Scene: I got nothing. Everything here was perfect.

Favorite Voice Actor: Arryn Zeck (Blake) and Jason Liebrecht (The Hound)

Favorite Animation: As horrifying as it was, The Hound reveal.

Rating: 10/10

Final Thoughts

When I watched these, all I could really do was stare wide-eyed. Even though I knew that this volume was going to be intense, somehow I wasn’t prepared for any of it. Certainly not for everything in these chapters. But all of it was just so freakin’ good. Does it feel emotionally draining? Yes. It was a big part of why I’m only getting to these several months later. But was it still worth watching? Absolutely. Compare Dark to the first chapter of Volume 1. RWBY has come such a long way. A lot of things both good and bad have happened in between, but it’s still going and I plan to be here until the bitter end. With quality like this, it gives me a good reason to stick around. So six more chapters/three reviews to go.

(Image Sources)

[abbacchiosbelt]

🌻 2020 Commissions Update 🌻

Hello, all! After a tough decision to clear out my remaining commission queue a month or so ago, I have regrouped and revamped my rules into something that I hope will be much better on my mental health! As it stands, I will only be taking 3 commissions total at any time - if the three slots are taken, they will not open again until the whole batch is finished. That way, I won’t get overwhelmed like I did last time. If you’re interested, please read more below!

Rules & Guidelines

I will be doing both SFW and NSFW commissions! Kink-friendly and self-insert friendly.

I write for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (parts 1-8), Fire Emblem: Fates, Awakening, and Three Houses, Mystic Messenger, Hunter x Hunter, Boyfriend to Death, Boku no Hero Academia*, and The Arcana. Additional fandoms may be enquired about but are up to my discretion.  

I will do alternate universe commissions if you provide me with details on the AU you’re interested in. (Including but not limited to: monster, modern, college, A/B/O, android, soulmates, etc.)

I can do specific self-inserts or generic reader-inserts. I will also write Character x Character! Poly self-insert ships or character poly ships are welcome.

I will not do: scat, incest, bestiality, or underage NSFW.

I reserve the right to refuse a commission for any reason.

Pricing & Time

Commissions start at one cent per word. A 500-word piece would cost $5, etc.

Payment can be made through PayPal or ko-fi.

Due to the limited volume of commissions I will be taking, I will require payment upfront.*

Your commission will be emailed to you in a Word Doc and in PDF form once complete with payment secured.

I anticipate commissions taking between 2-4 weeks to complete at the most.

*If I feel I cannot complete your commission for whatever reason (health issues, emergencies, etc.), I will contact you and refund your payment.

Additional Important Information (Please Read)

In order to assure a quality product for you, I am going to more selective with commissions this time around. I will only be taking on a very limited amount of commissions at a time. Please do not feel upset if I refuse your commission - I want to ensure that you get your money’s worth, so I will not accept commissions I feel I cannot deliver on.

Characters I will NOT write for (JJBA): Minor Villains from parts 1-8 (ex: J. Geil, Enyaba, Angelo, Sale, etc.), Von Stroheim, Noriaki Kakyoin, SDC!Dio Brando, Koichi Hirose, Child/Very Young Characters (Hayato, Emporio, Lucy Steel, etc.), and Ungalo.

BnHA*: Similar to my regular rules, I will not write for any students, aged-up or not.

Please check my ’Other Fandoms’ page to see which characters I write for. Enquires for characters not listed may be made if the character is an adult.

How To Contact Me and Additional Details

Please contact me here at @abbacchiosbelt​ or through my email at abbacchiosbeltcoms@protonmail.com if you wish to remain anonymous.

Upon your request, I can keep your commission private. Otherwise, I will ask permission before posting it to this blog and my AO3 account.

Examples of my work can be found on this blog or on my AO3 account.

If you don’t want a commission but want to support my work, I have a ko-fi! Tips are very appreciated but not necessary. ❀

Permalink — https://abbacchiosbelt.tumblr.com/commissions

[alkaria]

sorry but ALSO the sheer what the fuckery and yes it has taken me a year to realise this but the sheer what the fuckery in atlas when everyone wakes up and is eating their breakfast and checking the news and weiss schnee, the heiress to the world’s most powerful company, who went missing two months ago and then turned up working for the military a month ago without so much as a peep from the SDC and then being listed as a wanted fugitive

and this being at best a subheader for the literal apocalypse turning up on everyone’s doorstep, martial law and a grimm invasion of mantle

it’s pure chaos, and it’s 2020

[accio-victuuri]

I know I already had that monday-cpn post but I missed this. and the more I looked at it, the more I go.. Wait... 👀

for turtles only. if you don’t know what that is or you know but hate cpn then stay away. ⛔️

Let’s go back to this post. shared at 19:00. had that caption that talks about galaxy and then front and center is him with a flower that looks a lot like Web’s daisy + star necklace. So now what? I wanna talk about the photos/poses that were repeated.

specifically the hand. you know how this goes. bxgs are comparing it to yibo’s. We can’t confirm what exact date this press con was done and at the time, GG was on Ninja Mode. I remember someone posting back in 2020 of a car that was allegedly GG’s and that he was leaving from this press con but I can’t remember if it was around Aug. I also reviewed my 2020 timeline and reading that month, there were some shady things/cpn going on between them. GG being close to where SDC was recording. GG in an office that looks suspiciously similar to one Web had a photoshoot in etc. I’m also thinking about the Luoyang press con where the popular cpn is GG went with him. So this is probably not a new thing? The tagging along in each other’s workplace.

Anyway, the hand/finger:

Is it just me or is this person making a finger heart sign? We know they love to shoot finger hearts and guns at each other. not even in character. just the two of them doing it with everyone watching, so the CPN brain is really acting up. Doing their signature finger gun will be too obvious soooo. See for yourself. I love and hate CPNs like this cause it depends on the person who’s looking. None of us can confirm and it’s just your gut feeling that’s telling you something is up. Now I’m all the more convinced his team released these photo set for a reason. Wuji Anniversary indeed. 🤍

EDIT: whoever this person also seems to have the same prominent vein in their arm like Yibo’s. 👀

NOTE: This is all CPN, feel free to not buy it or whatever. No need to feel dumb or out of the loop if this doesn’t make sense. It could be they chose it cause it’s a good and creative shot. Who knows. ✌🏼It’s all fun and just taking little clues, some people are more sensitive to it than others, especially if you know the backstory or timeline.

[chaoslordjoe]

Iceberg Week 2020, Day 1-Double Date: What a Wonderful Wintery Day (feat. Rosegarden)

[Ah, Winter. Not the military sibling, but the season. It’s been ages ever since Ruby and her friends could enjoy a nice break in the Winter from all the chaos of Grimm, and the whole war they had the pleasure of being unintentionally drafted for.

Certainly, it was no problem for Weiss Schnee, and her boyfriend, Neptune Vasilias. She and Ruby/Oscar had gathered for a Winter double date that was on the books for a while. But due to schedule conflicts with their respective missions couldn’t be done right away.

But they were here now, and they in fact, did have all day. Ruby and Weiss sat at a bench having coffee while waiting on their boyfriends. On the other side of the park they were in had been Neptune and Oscar walking back to their lovers with coffee and sweets.

Oscar wore a bulkier overcoat that had been the same color as his coat from the war. This time, he wore thermal gloves and a red ushanka baring Ruby's rose emblem. And he wore spiked boots for good measure like he would back on the farm for harsh weather at this season.

Neptune, meanwhile, wore a red parka and hoodie, with thicker jeans and baring the SDC snowflake insignia on the back to symbolize his relationship with Weiss. Instead of his goggles, Neptune wore orange-tinted sunglasses while they trudged their way back.]

Oscar: And then Sherry realized that it was the Prime Minister's son whose drink she spilled. She was so freaked out that she had to ask his guards not to tackle the beer tap!

Neptune: Geez! Mistral seems a lot more stringent nowadays, huh?

Oscar: Try littering near the Parliament building.

Neptune: Think I'd rather stick with not having my goggle lens cracked into my eyes.

Oscar: Probably better that you avoid it. So Neptune, how long have you and Weiss been dating?

Neptune: About 10 months now. How about you and Ruby?

Oscar: Close to a year.

Neptune: Outmatched. Well then.

Oscar: Something like that. You guys met at Beacon, right?

Neptune: Yeah, in Semester 2 of Year 1. We went to the dance together, but I didn’t wanna make things weird in case Jaune wanted to go out with her instead.

Oscar: So you guys shared her?

Neptune: Nah, Jaune was originally gonna go for Weiss, but Pyrrha was feeling pretty lonely and he went out with her instead.

Oscar: Sounds to me like the War didn’t give you two much room to talk back in Vacuo.

Neptune: Well, with the Crown kidnapping folks for their Semblances, we really had our hands tied while you guys were Relic hunting.

Oscar: Yeah, fair enough. Where do you wanna get with Weiss now?

Neptune: Right now, we’re mostly just living close together due to our duties. The rest of the Schnees are still debating on how fit Weiss is for being head of SDC. Whitley is trying to screw things up with getting a bunch of their dad’s loyalists to lobby against her. And the military is having a hard time believing Weiss could be fit to cooperate with them since she and the others defected from General Ironwood’s task force during the Crisis.

Oscar: *frowns* You’d think that the General’s honorable discharge would’ve cut us all some slack.

Neptune: I hear ya. Honestly, it makes me wish I’d rather be living in Argus with her. But Vale is her home now, so I don’t wanna judge or force her into it. I just want things to be right after the war is all.

[The boys eventually arrived at their destination to see Ruby and Weiss sitting at the bench.]

Weiss: *looks up* Neptune! *skips over to Neptune and hugging him* Ruby and I were just about to come get you.

Neptune: *kisses Weiss’ head* Hi, honey. We just got wrapped up taking the scenic route.

Ruby: *hugs Oscar* You’re not giving Neptune too much trouble, are you, Oscar?

Oscar: *hugs Ruby back* Hey, he started it. I just wanted to finish it before meeting up with you.

Ruby: *looks at Oscar* What’d you get this time?

Oscar: One strawberry fudge chunk brownie for you, cookie. *hands to Ruby*

Neptune: And, some toasted spinach and provolone biscuits for you and me, Snow Angel. *hands to Weiss*

Weiss: *takes bag* Wow. I thought these were out of stock today. Thank you, Neptune.

Ruby: Thanks, Oscar. I don’t really know how to thank you for some of your gifts, but- -

Oscar: *cups Ruby’s face in hands* You don’t have to say anything.

[Oscar gave Ruby a kiss on the nose, which made her utter a surprised squeak as she pocketed her brownie. She held her coffee in her left hand as she took Oscar’s while Weiss and Neptune finished their coffee. Weiss leaped on top of Neptune’s back, prompting him to carry her in a piggyback manner as they looked into the snowy horizon of the park.]

Weiss: *rests head on Neptune's shoulder* It looks utterly beautiful today.

Oscar: It really does. Where should we start?

Neptune: Mmm…I kinda wanted to hang by the lake for a bit.

Ruby: Hey, yeah. Dad and I used to walk Zwei here, and that was our usual resting spot.

Weiss: Off we go then, Sea King. Giddyup!

Neptune: As you wish, Snow Angel.

@lewdnepvasilias666 @darksaiyangoku @haldidoodh @laserdog10 @iceberg-week @rozanime @rueleaf-art @the-blue-quetzalcoatl @razorblade180 @canonseeker @prokitty101 @phoenixfeather-ms @animefan299110 @ezroar So it begins...

[yaffles-world]

A Party to Remember - SDC and Reader

The lights shone brightly and the stage smoke billowed around your feet as you juju on that beat with your best friend Polneraff. The music was loud but you didn’t mind because you were having the time of your life. In fact, that's the song that was playing - you and Polneraff, along with the whole graduating class of 2020, screamed the words. 

Despite the fact you were having the time of your life, you did need some fresh air. You shouted into Polneraff's ear that you're going to take a breather outside and he shouted back that he'd be out soon. You walk out of the hall and step into the inky blackness, the cold air immediately snapping at you. The music is muffled but still loud and the light attempts to penetrate the darkness surrounding the school hall. 

You look back. This is the last time you'll be here. All these people, probably gone forever, swept up into their own lives. Some of them you definitely wouldn't miss. Some of them you would. And some you'd wonder who they really were and wish you'd got to know all of them a little better. Tears attempt to coat your eyes but you resist it. You see someone in the darkness, vaguely outlined by the light. 

You don't recognize them but you go over slowly, to see if they are okay. You sit down next to him. It's Jotaro, the grades loner and outcast. He was in some of your classes but he never really talked to anyone except a kid named Kakyoin. 

"Hey, pretty loud in there, huh?" 

"Yare yare daze," he muttered, "Go away." 

You were slightly taken aback. You wanted to try and make him feel better but you didn't want to make him uncomfortable by pushing him into saying anything so you just sat there for a while. "I'm gonna miss this place. It sucked a lot but at least it was familiar. Do you have any -" 

"Shut up and leave me alone you stupid bitch. Why are you talking to me anyway?"

"Well I- " you started, the tears really threatening to come now. You tried desperately to try and stop them, but in your attempt at hiding them you just made it more obvious. Jotaro looked at you and if it wasn't so dark you would've thought his face had softened the tiniest bit. It looked like he was about to open his mouth but then someone called from behind. 

"Jotaro, there you are," someone said from behind you. Noriaki Kakyoin was there, someone had put glitter in his long curly fringe. It looked pretty but you shudder to think how he's gonna get it out tomorrow. You always thought he was kinda cute and that wasn't helping. 

You didn't know how Kakyoin and Jotaro got along - they were opposites - but it was always good they did. 

"I was worried about you," Kakyoin said, walking over to you both, "thanks for keeping him company, Y/N, hope he wasn't too much trouble." 

"No, no, not at all," you stammered, slightly flustered he knew your name.

Kakyoin sat down on the other side of JoJo. "I'm fine, Kakyoin, go back inside and have a nice night." 

"I know your not fine. It's okay to not be fine. It's too loud in there anyway so i don't mind hanging out here." Kakyoin said. "Besides, who am I to leave Y/N stuck with you outside." 

You couldn’t help but giggle a little bit. It was nice to be getting to know new people, even on the last day.

You hear another voice from behind. If we aren't careful we'll get the whole grade out here. You look around and it's only Polneraff. 

"Ah, making new friends til the last minute are we Y/N? Or should I say, being a bother." Polneraff laughed heartily and sat down next to you. 

"Absolutely no bother," Kakyoin said. 

"Debatable," muttered Jotaro, and your heart sunk a little. Kakyoin death stared Jotaro for a solid minute after that. 

Polneraff, as usual, was the one to break the silence. "It's really loud in there but way too quiet out here," he laughed, pulling out a Bluetooth speaker and hooking up his phone. "Take it in turns?" He said, putting on a song and then passing his phone to Kakyoin.

You spent the rest of the night like that. Kakyoin went and got some soft drink cans, you passed Polneraff's phone around until the lights went on inside. All your music tastes wildly differed but there was no judgement, just good vibes and good tunes. Polneraff usually put on something up beat, usually pop but the pop that you'd discredit on first hearing but actually really bop to when you gave it a chance. Jotaro generally put on some hard rock, heavy metal absolute bangers. Jotaro even gave you a thumbs up and a genuine smile when you put on Wake Up by the Living End.

The only issue came when Kakyoin played songs by Sting 20 times in a row. 

"What is it with you and Sting?" you pleaded. 

Kakyoin shrugged. "I just like him..." 

"I mean same until I heard his voice so much I feel like I'm going to have nightmares about it," you replied. 

"Please Kakyoin," Jotaro sounded like he was about to lose his mind, "choose another band." 

"Uhhhhhhh...... Pass." You all laughed.

The lights went on inside and you went in and sat through a boring speech about how your lives are just beginning. Finally you walked out of the hall.

You were tired and happy and excited and sad all at once. And hungry... very hungry...

You and Polneraff had no ride home as your parents worked really weird hours - luckily you both lived only a couple blocks away. You stood looking at the hall for a couple more minutes, just remembering everything. You zoned out a bit, until you heard Polneraff shout from behind. 

"Hey, Y/N, you coming?" You expected him to be walking home but he was standing at a car with Kakyoin and Jotaro. "Jotaros grandpa has offered to take us home - and to get ice cream!" 

You ran over and squeezed in the back. "Nice to meet you Mr Joestar," you said.  

"Why did you drag Advol out here?" Jotaro asked, and you assumed he was referring to the younger man in the passenger seat. 

"I couldn't let Mr Joestar deal with you kids on his own!"

You all sung songs in the back and laughed together as Advol and Mr Joestar shook their heads in shame. You had ice cream, and Mr Joestar dropped you all off at your houses and you were so fulfilled and happy you thought you weren't gonna be able to sleep. But as soon as your head hit that pillow you were out of it.

You were wrong - even though you'd just met the night school ended, you all stayed friends. By lunch time your phone had blown up with texts from the 3 of them with plans to hang out for what seemed to be months. Road trips, sleepovers, movies, roller skating.

And most importantly -

Ice cream

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Month Meme #21

Why does no one ever listen to Heliodor 🤦‍♀️