#sun would look the same because well. he's a monkey faunus. and humans and monkeys are pretty similar. he just should be hairier | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

razorblade180 · 5 years

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Sunshower

[Menagerie]

It’s as busy as its ever been. The streets are bustling more than usual as vendors and civilians alike decorate the island with the symbol of the Belladonnas on flags. A celebration is gonna begin; one that will last indefinitely. If there’s one thing Menagerie is known for it is parties. This one is bound to be the biggest one since.....

Kali:Come on everyone, double time! Blake could come home any minute!

Ghira:Khali please don’t yell at anyone. They’re doing all of this of their own free will after all.

Kali:Well that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t put forth their best effort. *pouting* They need to have the same enthusiasm as Ilia.

As quickly as her name was uttered was as fast as she could be seen. Palm tree to palm tree she’s dashing at a speed that would make Ruby jealous. In her arms are wires of flags she’s precisely pinning with each tree jump.

Ilia:I’m running low on flags! Neptune, hook me up!!!

Neptune:*raises a box* A hundred flags right here!

Ilia*grabs it midair* Thank you!

Kali:Thank you for your help too a Neptune. It’s greatly appreciated.

Neptune:Pleasure is all mine. Not everyday a human gets to set foot in this place. I feel super... *looks around* fortunate.

Ghira:Young man I do hope you behave yourself. We’ve been informed of your.....reputation. It would be a shame if the faunus around here got worse opinions of humans.

Neptune:Yes sir. I wouldn’t be much of best friend if I ruined things around here; right Sun? *throws up a box*

Sun:Got that right! *catches box from a tree* thanks dude!

The young man might not have White Fang training but he’s a monkey faunus through and through. Jumping from the trees couldn’t be more natural; not one flag is out of place that he places.

Sun:*bouncing frantically* Woohoo! I should do this for a living!

Ilia:*keeping up* Geez can you be a little serious here? If any of your flags banners come undone I’m not fixing them.

Sun:Aw don’t be like that. I’d fix yours; then again it wouldn’t take as long.

Ilia:What’s that suppose mean?

Sun:Nothing, just that you’re moving incredibly slow.

Ilia:Slow!? Last time I checked you could barely keep up with me when we first met.

Sun:Pfft home field advantage. Now that I know this place I could lap you faster than you can change colors.

Ilia:That sounds like a challenge. First to pin a hundred more flags gets to greet Blake home first.

Sun:As long as the loser gets to stand there and watch.

Ilia:Oh you got yourself a deal!

Sun:Don’t be grumpy when she wants a kiss after a long year of saving the world!

Ilia:Like she would want to kiss you banana breath. Time to put your skills to the test.

Sun and Ilia:Neptune!!!!

Neptune:Yeah yeah...*tosses boxes up and watches them get whisked off* I swear those two.....

Ghira:My money is on Ilia.

Kali:Nah, Sun has this in the bag. If not then I’ll be less hard on the workers.

Ghira:Deal.....

Neptune:(These two aren’t much better. How did Blake end up calm with people like this her whole life?)

Both Faunus race at breakneck speed; not giving up an inch of progress. People who didn’t know any better would mistake the acrobatics for a routine instead of a romantic rivalry showdown.

Sun:45.....46.....47

Ilia:48......49......50

Neptune:*whistles* Look at them go. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sun move that fast.

Ilia:75....76.....77

Sun:78....79.....80

Ilia:You look tired! Maybe you should give up?

Sun:I’m fine, you’re the one who should be-

Ilia:*sticks leg out* Ooops.....

Sun:*trips* Ilia!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ilia:Ha! All is fair in love in war. 93....94....95.....huh?

Three clones dart pass her with the remaining flags he had left. Before she could process what was happening the flags were wrapped across the trees in her sight. The clones then landed at the base of the final tree where Sun was.standing smugly.

Kali:Woo! Alright everybody double time!

Workers:*groaning*

Sun:Boom, a hundred done. Oooo want me to take two from you? I see you still have some left.

Ilia:Your semblance is annoying....

Sun:So is getting tripped, but all is fair in love and war right? *sticks tongue out*

Ilia:*rolls eyes* I may have deserved that.

Neptune:*throws his arms around them* Good job you two. Everything is basically done now and not a moment too soon. *points to the sea*

A giant ship is approaching with an all too familiar captain on board.

Khali:I bet you I know who’s on board.

Sun:To the docks! *runs off*

Ilia:Don’t run! There’s people everywhere. *chases after him*

Neptune:She says as she runs after him. *starts walking*

Ilia:Do you ever slow down.

Sun:Of course I do. Today I’m just extra pumped, don’t act you’re not.

Ilia:I’m not as excited as you are.

Sun:So what are your freckles pink?

Ilia:What!? *checks her arms* how long have I been like this!?

Sun:The whole time. You should really keep an eye on that.

Ilia:*changes back* Noted, you should also pay attention to where you’re going instead of looking at me.

Sun:I told you I know this place like the back of my- *pulled back by his tail* Hey that hur-

Ilia:You rather take a dip in the ocean?

Sun:*realizes he’s on the dock edge* Oh.....we’re here. That was fast.

Neptune:*few feet away* That’s what happens when you sprint!

Ilia:Oh you showed up too....

Neptune:Aw don’t be like that. I thought we were getting along. *smiles*

Ilia:Half the time. The other is still trying to tolerate you.

Neptune:What side would that be?

Ilia:*rainbow colored* Did you even have to ask?

Neptune:Fair point.

Sun:Both of you hush! She’s coming.

Ilia:You’ve gone this long without seeing her. A few more minutes won’t kill you.

Sun:You’re just saying that because you lost the challenge.

Ilia:*squints* whatever...like she’s actually gonna kiss you.

Sun:A guy can dream can’t he? Blake and I have something special and I’m sure she’s been- *Neptune turns his head to the boat*

The boat had gotten significantly closer during their brief chat. Blake was seen clear as day now waving at them from the ship, but she wasn’t alone. Bye her side was Yang, just Yang. No other members of the team in sight which could be easily dismissed as they’re on the other side. What couldn’t be dismissed however the two of them holding hands, fingers interlocked. They looked really happy as they waved. Sun didn’t realize that he zoned out and Ilia’s skin started turning gray.

Neptune:Guys?

...........

Neptune:Guys look alive.

Ilia:*color coming back* Huh? Oh...right. Sun are you oka-?

Sun:*makes a clone to toss him to the boat* Can I get a hand here kitty cat!?

Blake:*lassos his arm and pulls him up* Hey Sun! *hugs him*

Sun:Long time no see you two.

Yang:Well that’s what happens when you go off to save the world.

Sun:How’d that go for you?

Yang:There was challenges but we had each other so everything worked out. *snakes hand around Blake’s waist*

Sun:Heh, glad to hear it. *smiles*

Neptune:Poor guy....

Ilia:He seems to be taking it well.

Neptune:You’ve hung out for him how long now and you honestly believe that?

Ilia:*watching closely*......

His tail isn’t moving, but not in an idle way. It’s stiff like he’s tensing it. As she keeps watching he’s purposely not looking at Yang for long and keeps smiling. Not his normal goofy smile, it almost looks like his cheek bones look like they’re giving it all they got. It’s almost sad, frustrating in a way. Is that what he’s feeling?

Ilia:He’s not taking this well at all.

Neptune:Not one bit.

*boat docks*

Blake:Hey you two! *Jumps down and hugs them*

Ilia:Wow, when did you become a hugger?

Blake:How else am I supposed to show how much I mess you?

Ilia:(I could think of a few) Cash... I could always use that.

Yang:*chuckles* She reminds me of Ruby.

Ilia:*holds out hand* Hi I don’t think we’ve ever actually met. I’m Ilia, Blake’s friend.

Yang:*shakes her hand* I’m Yang, her girlfriend.

Ilia:Is that right? Well you got a good one, Blake is great. *smiles*

Yang:Don’t I know it?

Neptune:Where’s Weiss and the others?

Yang:Sorry lover boy. Everyone else finally went home. I’m only here because Blake wanted me to meet her parents. Hopefully I make a purrfect first impression.

Ilia:Please tell me she’s not actually going to say that in front of them?

Blake:*nervous* I really hope she doesn’t.

Neptune:Well they’re bar your home so need for an escort.

Blake:Cool, we can all walk and catch up.

Sun:Actually I still have a lot more preparations to take care of. This is where I tap out for now.

Blake:*frowns* Really things look done?

Sun:Nah it’s not even close hehe. Catch up with you later. *walks off*

Ilia:....

Blake:Sigh, I thought this would end up a bit weird. Maybe I should-

Neptune:Trust me he’s fine. Your mother literally gave him a list for three people because of his semblance. As a matter of fact, maybe you should help out Ilia.

Ilia:Huh?

Neptune:Yeah, you lost the race you two had. Wasn’t the promise to help with his work?

Ilia:Ummm it was. I...I was just hoping I’d weasel my way out of it.

Neptune:Dang, you stab him and you won’t even help with his work load.

Ilia:You weren’t even there for-hey! *getting guided away.

Neptune:*whispers* Aren’t you spy? Can’t you read what I’m trying to spell out? Go check in him.

Ilia:Why don’t do it? He’s your friend?

Neptune:Sun rarely gets mushy around me. Besides do you really want to spend time around Blake and Yang? It looked like any minute you were gonna change into every shade of red. I’m giving you an out.

Ilia:......fine. But don’t get used to me doing this. *walking off*

Neptune:Thank you, you’re beautiful!

Ilia:So is every girl you look at.....Thank you though.

Neptune:*Turns around* Alright you two, I want every detail about your adventure. Blake, I know you didn’t cut your hair for nothing; what happened? *chuckles*

Ilia:(He’s really good swaying people...)

She started walking in the opposite direction; thinking and following her target’s footprints. Neptune was right, she didn’t want to go with them at the moment. There was too much to process right now and it was starting to show as her skin did get a little red as if she was getting sunburnt. She felt burned alright but the heat had nothing to do with it. Sandy foot prints faded as they led through the market streets.

Ilia:Not gonna make this easy for me huh? Actually I’m glad, I need a good distraction right now. *climbs a tree* All right Sun, where the hell am I gonna find you?

#rwby #ghira belladonna #kali belladonna #blake belladonna #sun wukong #yang xiao long #neptune vasilias #ilia amitola #rwby sunshower #bumblb #bumbleby

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sunnylildragun · 5 years

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The Lion- doesn't- Sleep Tonight

Day 4 of the Bumbleby Week- AU Day.

No one truly knew how Yang Xiao Long had lost her right arm. There were rumors, speculations, and a lot of gossip. Some said she did it by protecting her house from Grimm. Others said it was in a motorcycle accident. Some speculated that it had been fighting a bunch of bandits. None of those were accurate, and the blonde always just brushed it off. She didn't pay much mind to what people said about her arm, as long as they didn't ask her awkward questions. Like, it was funny when it started, but why were people so interested in knowing if it had a vibration function? Geez, chill, people.

There was also a discussion over what she hid under her cowgirl hat. Team CRDL once tried stealing it from her head, which resulted in broken noses and bruised ribs for them. After that, no one explicitly talked about it. The subject was buried in the same grave as Cardin Winchester's ego. And Yang was glad for that. What she had under her hat was nobody's business, and whoever she wanted to know, would know. And for now, it was no one but her sister, her father and her uncle.

Blake Belladonna couldn't help but wonder, too, what it was that the taller girl hid. Every time purple eyes fell upon her own yellow ones, she knew there was more to Yang than anyone could tell. Blake had, throughout her life, learned to read people very well. Her parents were influential activists in the Faunus Rights cause, although being humans. They found it very important to treat everyone as equals, so that's what they taught her since a very young age. It gave the raven haired girl the opportunity to make many friends, and to interact with all sorts of people.

Her partner was still a mystery to her. As curious as she was, though, Blake couldn't bring herself to ask Yang about it. She was afraid of hurting their growing friendship, or worse: permanently harming their partnership. The two of them had a duty not only with each other, but also with their team. Blake just couldn't risk losing both her relationship with Yang, and the functionality of the team.

So she held herself back, only talking out her frustrations when she was with her friends from outside the team. And those were Sun Wukong, a monkey faunus who she had befriended in the early months at Beacon, and Ilia Amitola, a chameleon faunus girl whose family was supported by the Belladonna family, and who was her childhood friend. They were in a cafe in Vale, Blake and Sun drinking tea, while Ilia enjoyed a capuchino.

"It's just..." Blake started. "I really wanna know more about her. She's always cheerful, and nice, and sweet. But I can see a longing in her eyes... as if she's hiding something. Something that hurts her deep inside."

"Blake... maybe you're just reading the wrong signs." Ilia said, after sipping from her cup. "From what I could see, she's a very open person. Perhaps she just likes the hat."

"Yeah!" Sun agreed. "And Yang trusts you a big deal. I mean, I've seen y'all do that combo... what was it again? Something bee related..."

"Bumblebee?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, that thing! You literally throw her at the enemy. No offense to Neptune, but I would never do something like that with him."

"Sun, Yang and I are partners. We're different people in combat than what we are in our casual, day to day life." The human girl sipped from her tea.

"I think she likes you." Ilia smirked at Blake as she said it, and it grew to a grin when the taller choked.

"What?!"

"And you like her back." Sun joined the teasing.

"No, I don't?" Blake's voice was indignant. "And how would you two know that she likes me? Has she told you anything?!"

"No, she hasn't. But Ilia and I both crushed on you."

"Yeah, we know what it looks like." The chameleon faunus added. "She eyes you whenever you have your head buried in those books of yours. And that means all the damn time."

"That's true. Not to mention how she watches you train."

"How she lets you win most of your wrestling games after you two spar, even though she's physically stronger."

"How she puts herself in harm's way whenever the White Fang is near, because she knows your parents are a threat to their violent ways."

"How she shamelessly flirts with you and you flirt back."

"I get it!" Blake finally broke. "I just... never thought of it that way. Yang is just-" she sighed, not knowing how to explain her thoughts. It wouldn't work anyway. "Has anyone else ever mentioned any of that?"

"Weiss complains about it all the time." Ilia drank a bit more. "She says you two should get a room already."

"Schnee..." Blake said through gritted teeth, just before an idea popped in her head. A devilish smirk took over her features. "So... you and Weiss have been talking a lot?"

"Yeah, yeah. She's coming around. I think living in the same room as you had an influence on her." Ilia answered dismissively.

"Ilia." Sun called, knowing where Blake wanted to get with her teasing. These two had been his friends for a while, and he loved their shenanigans. "We all know that's not what Blake is talking about. You and the Ice Queen... you're seeing each other, aren't ya?"

Immediately, the darker spots on the faunus girl's cheeks turned a bright pink. "I-I... w-we... uh, we're kinda..." she sighed, trying to control how flustered she was. "We've gone on a few dates. She's actually... a pretty decent person when you get to know her."

"I think you look cute together." Sun smiled, supporting.

"I think so, too." Blake smiled too, and she saw Ilia relax and lighten up. The ravenette's mind was far from there, though, all the way to Beacon. She couldn't help but think of Yang, and of everything her friends just said.

Maybe se did have feelings for her partner...

-+-

Some weeks later, Blake and Yang were sent in a training mission. They were alone, as it was a project in which they should develop their partnership, and their field skills. It was supposed to test their abilities far from the comfort zone that was being under one of the professors' wings. As huntresses in training who were in the beginning of their second year, they appreciated this opportunity of experiencing actual independence. It was nice.

And Blake lowkey wanted to have some alone time with her partner. She had decided that she would confront Yang about... whatever it was. She kept it in mind to not make any assumptions, and to not go too fast with her questions. Blake didn't want to scare Yang off, she wanted to be let in.

The two of them didn't have time for that right now, though. Exploring the forest in the outskirts of Mountain Glenn had given them a bit of trouble, as they were intercepted by a bunch of creatures of Grimm. They had cleaned most of them, but three remained, giving them a bit more of a fight. Out of the corner of her eyes, Blake saw Yang duck an Ursa paw, and then punch the beast in the gut, sending it into a tree. The black haired girl herself was facing two Beowolves- an Alpha and a regular one. She jumped back as one tried to take a bite at her.

'Shit,' she thought. 'I can't let myself get distracted like that.'

Blake put her katana in pistol mode, shooting at the exhausted, weaker one's head. It was soon gone in a fuzz of smoke. The only one remaining was the Alpha, which got it all fours, ready to lunge at her. The girl readied herself too, grabbing the sheath of Gambol Shroud. The monster attacked, and she slid under it. Then, she got her weapon back into a sword, and attacked it several times.

Yang was not doing all that bad, either. The Ursa she had chosen to unleash her fire upon was not far from becoming ashes. She kicked its face, then punched it repeatedly in the stomach. The sound of her gauntlet and of the gun in her prosthetic firing filled the clearing, and it was all she could hear. She did capture, though, the moment Blake grunted in pain as the Alpha she was fighting pawed her, throwing her a few feet backwards, her back and her head hitting a tree. Her purple aura shone as the impact shattered it, since she had received many blows earlier that night.

The blonde turned to see what happened, her eyes widening and turning red. "Blake!" Came the almost feral cry. The growl behind her got her back to her own risky situation. She had to act fast.

Yang blocked the Ursa's claws with her right arm, and with the other she punched its head. The monster finally vanished, and the girl could finally focus on helping her partner. She fired her guns, jumping in the direction of the Beowolf. It was jumping at Blake, who was supporting herself against the tree. Her hand was on her forehead, eyes closed as her head started aching. When they opened, they immediately went wide. Just as she thought it was done for her, a mess of fire and blond hair changed the beast's trajectory, both going into the forest.

Blake got herself up, still dizzy from the impact. She heard a few gunshots and walked slowly there, trying to ignore low ringing in her ears. In the way, she found Yang's hat, which apparently was taken out of her head by a tree branch. She grabbed it, and followed the track of destruction left by the blonde and the Grimm. When she found them, Blake's shock was written all over her face.

"You. Ain't. Ever. Touching. My. Partner. Again!" Yang shouted between punches, her voice almost a roar. The girl's rage wasn't what shocked Blake the most, though.

On top of Yang's head was a pair of lion ears, that were back and low as she striked the creature multiple times. Even in the dark, Blake could see the lines of the faunus trait very clearly. When it was finally over, the faunus was sweaty and gasping for air. Her dark brownish-gold ears were up, as the danger had vanished and her anger was slowly coming to an end. Blake accidentally stumbled back, the shock from the sight in front of her and the hit to her head affecting her body. She stepped on a stick, and Yang's left ear turned to her, followed by her head.

As red eyes became violet once again as they stared softly into Blake's own. Then, when she realized where the yellow orbs were, she panicked. She noticed the hat in Blake's hand, and her eyes widened even more, almost taking her whole face.

"Blake, I-" she wasn't able to finish the sentence, as the other girl tried walking to her, only to lose her balance and almost fall. She supported herself on a tree, and tried to stand still. "Blake!" Yang ran to her, trying to think of what to do. She put a hand on the girl's shoulder, worry all over her features. "Hey, what's going on?"

"I... I'm not feeling all that well." Blake closed her eyes, as the pain in her head got even more intense, her ears ringing with even more intensity. "My head..."

"L-Let's get you back... to the camp." Yang gulped. "Do you... can you walk there?"

"I... don't think so." Blake answered, groaning in pain.

"Would you like me to, you know... um... carry you there?"

Blake was silent for a few seconds, but then nodded. She whined in pain, as it made her head hurt more. Yang just nodded back, putting one of the other's arms over her shoulder, and one of her own arms went to the girl's back for support. The other went under her knees, and soon she was walking back to their camp. It was in another clearing, a bit to the north of the one where they battled the Grimm. Blake still had the hat in the hand that wasn't holding on to Yang's shoulder. Her head was against her partner's chest, and she listened to her heartbeat as she gave in to sleep.

-+-

Blake woke up a few hours after that. She was inside the tent, in her sleeping bag. The headache had dulled a bit, and she guessed it was because her aura was full again. The young woman sat up, rubbing her eyes with her left hand. She then sighed, deciding to get out of the tent and see how Yang was holding up. It turned out the sky was already gaining the colors of dawn, and she had to cover her eyes as they tried to adjust to the light.

When she was finally able to see again, she spotted Yang sitting on a tree trunk they found to use as a bench. She was staring at Blake with a sweet smile, and her ears were free from the prison of the hat. Her whole being looked amazing in the light, and showing her faunus trait like that made her look... whole. It was like the hat covered the missing piece of a puzzle, and the entirety of Yang's beauty was unlocked by having them out.

It was not that Blake thought her partner didn't look good with the hat. She actually looked awesome with it, too. Yang looked beautiful all the time. It's just that this part of the faunus girl made her look natural, and like the greatest masterpiece ever created. The most beautiful being ever born. Yang looked exactly how Blake thought her heart would look if it were a person.

"Um... you can come sit with me. If you want." Yang finally said, her eyes going down and her pale cheeks turning red. Blake gave a nervous chuckle, and walked to the bench. She sat beside the blonde, "accidentally" bumping her shoulder against Yang's own. The taller girl didn't move away, brushing her hand against the ravenette's own instead. Her pinky was over Blake's own, and the smaller girl blushed.

They were silent for a few moments, until Yang spoke again.

"So..."

"So." Blake said, looking at her partner, and Yang looked back at her. The violet eyes held an emotion that Blake had not seen there yet. The blonde's metallic fingers came in contact with the other's cheek.

"I was so worried. So scared that..." Yang sighed, her eyes closing and her head low. Blake's hands shot up, taking the other woman's cheeks in them.

"Hey." She called softly. "Yang, look at me." Violet eyes opened to show unshed tears. "I'm sorry I put you through that."

"Just... be more careful, please. I don't want anything happening to you. I know we're being trained to that kind of fight, but..." the girl trailed off, looking at her yellow, mechanical fingers. Blake noticed the change, and put her left handover the one in her cheek.

"Is there... do you wanna talk about it?"

"No." Yang said, pulling away. Blake's heart dropped to her stomach and a lump formed in her throat. She had done exactly what she didn't want to do. She had made her partner push her away. She- "I never want to talk about it. But... I guess I have to. Now that you know about them," golden ears twitched in emphasis, "you may as well know the story behind it all."

"Yang... you don't have to. Not if you're not ready. I'd never want to push you into talking about it, not if it makes you uncomfortable."

"You aren't pushing me. I've... actually been meaning to talk to you for some time now. I know what your parents do for people like me. For the faunus. I was gonna ask for your help to... encourage myself to get out of hiding my heritage."

"Oh..." Blake let out in awe. Yang wanted her help with something like that? It made her chest feel warm, and butterflies fly all over her stomach. "I'll do anything my power. Just tell me how I can help, and I will do it."

"Well, I think we can start with what happened. As you know, from that time you went White Fang crazy and I told you about my obsession, my mother left and I went after answers for her whereabouts. The story I told you is not exactly all that happened, though."

Blake felt her body temperature drop a few degrees, knowing what she was about to hear would not be a happy story at all. "And... what happened?"

"It was almost night...

Ruby and I had entered a small diner by the woods. We were just kids, so I guessed no one would mess with us. Dad always taught us to not talk to strangers, so I thought only doing that would work. In my head, it was all pretty simple. Walk in. Ask the bartender- who, to me, seemed to be someone we could trust- for the information I wanted. Walk out with what I needed, and find that damned house.

The part of going in went alright, but the adults in there looked... scary. Shady. And they stared at me and at my ears like I was some kind of abomination. They seemed to want to take Ruby from me, so I held her close. I didn't know why they were acting like that, since to me a faunus and a human being sisters wasn't something weird. Besides, as you know, Ruby only looks human. Those claws of hers are killers. I've always loved and protected her with my whole being, I didn't get why anyone would ever assume I would do something bad to her.

"Sis... I'm scared..." I remember Ruby's small voice saying as she clinged to my arm.

"We'll be out soon. I promise." I answered, and kept walking to the balcony. "Sir," I called the bartender, who was cleaning some glasses, and he looked down at me.

"What is it?" His voice was rough, and rude.

"Um... do you know this woman?" I showed him a picture of Raven, and he leaned down to look at it.

"Never seen 'er around." He shrugged. "Now get out, before you get me in trouble."

My eyebrows furrowed, and I wondered what kind of trouble a little girl and a toddler could cause. "I'm already going. Just one more question-"

"Didn't ya hear the man, little beast?!" A tall, black haired man punched the balcony, his green eyes shining with anger, spite and violence. He was smoking, and he smelled like alcohol. Everything about him was scary, but the worst part was... that he was a huntsman. "Can't you read a sign to save your life? Huh? Right by the door, it says 'no faunus allowed'. I don't come to this bar to find your scum of a race!"

"S-sorry, sir..." my whole body was shaking, and my ears were glued to my skull, seeming to want to vanish. "I-I just wanted s-some information. I-It's very importan-"

"I don't care what you want!" He started walking in our direction, and I put myself in front of Ruby as we walked backwards. "Just get the fuck out of here, you small, filthy abomination! Go, and never fucking come back!" His voice filled the whole building, and I grabbed Ruby's hand and ran out of that terrible place.

Once she was in the wagon, I started running the way I'd never run before. I ran for what felt like hours, until I was exhausted, and most likely lost. Ruby was sleeping in the wagon, and I was glad she wasn't hurt. My mind was filled with thoughts, though. Why did he treat me like that? Why do people hate faunus? Did I do something wrong?

As I let these demons roam my mind freely, I kept walking and didn't notice the monsters outside. Beowolves were watching us, waiting for the right time to strike. They were probably attracted by the negativityof my thoughts. But all I could see was the path in front of me, the trail leading somewhere. That darned abandoned house from that photograph I had seen. The building that got me into that mess. For a moment, I forgot all the hardships of the day, and felt fulfilled as my goal was apparently achieved.

The nightmare wasn't over, though.

I took one more step, and hell broke loose. The pack of Beowolves jumped out of the dark trees. I was too tired to react. Ruby was basically passed out in the wagon, so shouting at her to run would do little to nothing. So I stood there in horror and shock, as death stared at me with shining, hungry orange and red eyes. One of them- the Alpha- was the first to jump at us, and it was going for Ruby, specifically.

"No!" Came the cry from my dry throat. Out of impulse, despair, and the desire to protect my little sister, I put my right arm in front of her. The Grimm took it, the bite sending pain through my whole body. It shook me around a few times and my yells woke Ruby up. Everything was a bit messy after that, but I still remember her silver eyes looking at me in shock and in fear. I remember her shouting for help. I remember when it threw me into a tree, and I remember Uncle Qrow calling my name and telling me to hold on.

After that, I never went out showing my ears again. I felt like my heritage was the responsible for all that happened after I set foot in that bar. To me, everything went wrong after that. And I... I blamed myself for that man's prejudice. I blamed myself for the fact that I was so terrified I didn't notice my surroundings. I blamed myself for putting Ruby's life in danger. I thought it was my fault I was born a faunus and I never wanted to go through what I went through that day again."

Blake felt her heart clench as she looked at Yang, who had her eyes on the yellow prosthetic. Her ears were a bit dropped, and the purple eyes had sadness, pain and some anger in them. From what she just heard, the black haired girl assumed the anger wasn't towards the man who'd been so ruthless to her when she was just a child. Yang was angry at herself.

Blake couldn't watch that any longer, and put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Hey," her voice was soft, caring. "It's not your fault that people like that exist. Your heritage isn't a crime either, and you shouldn't feel the need to blame yourself for having it." Yang looked at her, a small smile forming. Her eyes started shedding the tears she had been holding back, and Blake reached out to whip them with her unoccupied hand. "I actually think they're gorgeous. Your ears." Her voice was just a bit above whisper.

Yang let herself relax, exhaling slowly and nuzzling against Blake's palm. Her lion ears captured how fast the other girl's heart was beating, and it was just as fast as her own. She then closed her eyes again, leaning in to rest her forehead against Blake's own. A low chuckle echoed from her throat, and Blake could hear the relief in it.

She decided to pull Yang into a hug, holding the girl close, arms around her shoulders. Yang hugged her back after the shock wore down. Blake didn't start contact very often, so she wanted to make the most of it. The blonde nuzzled against the shorter's shoulder, sighing in relief to find comfort in somebody's arms. As Blake's hands descended to her back, rubbing up and down, the blonde could feel all the tension leaving her.

"Did you get any sleep?" The raven haired girl asked softly. "You seem so tired..."

"I kept on watch all night. I thought you needed some rest after everything that happened."

Blake's heart beat a bit faster with that. Yang was always so thoughtful, and it made her chest go warm. "Well... I'm awake now. You should get some rest, too."

"Are you alright, though? I mean, you hit your head and back really hard." Yang pulled away, and looked at Blake with a smirk. Her hands were in the human girl's waist, thumbs rubbing her sides, and Blake's hands were in Yang's shoulders. "Wouldn't want princess here to faint."

"Princess?" Blake raised and eyebrow, looking around. "Did we bring Weiss to the trip?"

Yang laughed out loud at that, and it was music to Blake's ears. "You're a jerk. But don't worry, I won't tell Weiss. My ears kill me when she throws her tantrums when we call her princess."

"Thank you. And if I had feline ears, I wouldn't want to have someone yelling near me, either."

"That makes me wonder what would be your heritage if you were a faunus."

"Panther ears, maybe?"

"More like cat ears."

"Why cat ears?"

"You would look even feistier with cat ears on your head when you're upset."

"Panther ears would make me look intimidating. Wouldn't that be better?"

"Nah, your death glares are scary enough."

Blake slapped Yang's shoulder lightly. "Jerk." Both giggled, touching foreheads again. They knew exactly what they were doing, the lines they were crossing. They knew they would have to talk about it later, and they knew it would bring some changes to the way they act around each other. In that moment, though, they didn't pay much mind to that and just enjoyed themselves.

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, until Yang yawned. Blake didn't say anything, just putting her hand on the back of the blonde's head. The faunus let her head be lightly pushed to Blake's shoulder, and her eyes slowly closed. Her breathing was soon steady, and her partner could tell she was sleeping.

Blake kept caressing the blond locks, some times brushing lightly against Yang's ears. She still couldn't believe that such a sweet, caring person as the woman in her arms could have a past this tragic. She wasn't sure if she would be able to remain uncorrupted if she had experienced anything anywhere near what Yang went through. It made Blake love the blonde even more, knowing her soul was kind to the point she didn't hate the world, even after being forced to hide. Even after losing a part of herself. And she knew there was still much work to do on getting Yang's confidence to let her ears free more often back. She wouldn't give up, though.

She would help Yang. She would fight beside her. They would win against the chains of discrimination.

And Blake made a promise to always do everything in her power to not let anything ever harm Yang like that. She would protect her partner to hell and back, and she knew the faunus would do the same for her.

Because no matter the circumstances, no matter the hardships. No matter the world, or the universe they were in. They would always be there for each other.

#bumbleby #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #rwby #bmblbweek #bumblebyweek #bumbleby week

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jace-the-writer-guy · 5 years

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Fireworks

Kuo Kuana wasn't the kind of village that usually celebrated the fourth of July. Due to being... well, Menagerie, most people don't bother to send any fireworks over for them all to launch for any shows for the holiday, which was a sad thing. But, it wasn't all bad. Every year, Ghira and Kali took the time to set up a huge cookout for everyone in Kuo Kuana whether it be the locals or visitors, and it allowed everyone to cut back, eat, drink, laugh, and have a great time with each other.

This year's event also had a few special guests in the form of team BYSN and Sakura all performing a few songs on a stage on the beach for the town with Sakura dressed in her yukata and of course her cat ear headphones. It was something everyone loved as it was the first time a band had performed for them there. They of course had Sakura to sing for them all on occasions when she was there, but never a band backing her.

And of course where Sakura was, a certain kitten was as well.

"And hold on to memories~ Hold on to every moment, to keep them alive~ The world's greatest tragedy. Souls who are not remembered, cannot survive~"

Sakura ended off a song called Hold Onto Memories to cheers from the crowd of Faunus around them, including Kuro's little sisters, Snow's mother, Aliah's parents, Aerial's parents, and Wave and Carlisha. But the one cheering the loudest was of course Ebony, who was also dressed in her yukata, cheering happily for her mate and her gorgeous voice.

"I think we're gonna be done for the night after that one, guys!" Sakura said to all the Faunus gathered on the beach, "I'm so happy I got to sing for you all tonight, and I'm even happier to do it beside my friends here." She motioned toward all of those in team BYSN, all waving at the crowd a bit, "I'm sure Aerial, Kuro, Snow, and Aliah want to spend some time with their families, and I want to spend some more time with my mate. Have a good night, everyone!"

"That was awesome!" Aerial exclaimed as she and the others stepped off stage, "I was nervous at first but I wanna go again!"

"Right?" Kuro chuckled and petted her head, "It's how I felt when I performed with those bands before."

"Yesssss~"

As soon as Aerial saw Wave and Carlisha once more in the crowd, she ran and jumped into their arms. "How'd you like the show?"

Wave grinned. "Amazing as I thought it would be."

"Whad he said. You looked great up on stage~" Carlisha said, smirking at Aerial.

Aerial blushed at that and buried her face into Wave's shoulder, and they both carried Aerial off through the crowd to find a nice spot on the beach. "Thanks for calling us over, Sakura," Aliah said to the vocalist, "It was fun to perform here."

"And the flight over was great, if a bit bumpy," Snow said, shoving his drumsticks through a belt loop on his pants, "Aerial's pretty decent at flying her dad's Manta. I'm glad it's a larger one."

"Well, it's good it is," Sakura giggled, "A band isn't much without a drummer after all."

"And they're the backbone of a band," Kuro said with a grin, "In my experience, anyway. Someone's gotta have a strong back to carry all that shit around."

Snow snorted out a laugh. "You could say that."

Kuro, Aliah, and Snow broke off from Sakura to go to their families, and Sakura smiled widely as she walked toward Ebony, who also had a big smile on her face. Ebony picked Sakura up easily and placed a short kiss on her lips, and then nuzzled her head against Sakura's shoulder.

"That was amazing, Saki," Ebony said to her mate, "Hearing you sing like that with a band is the best thing ever."

Sakura petted Ebony's ears a bit and kissed her on the side of the head. "I can tell how happy you are through my Mark~"

Ebony purred very happily. "And I can tell how happy it made you too. That was just... so awesome."

Sakura smiled widely and wrapped her arms around Ebony's shoulders in a hug. "I'm glad Aerial used her semblance on you before the party. I hate seeing you looking so scared."

Ebony hugged Sakura just a bit tighter. "I hope I can get over it some day... But I have you with me, so I think I can."

"May I have everyone's attention, please?"

The voice of the leader of Menagerie cut through the night from the speakers, causing everyone to turn to the stage to see Ghira standing at the microphone with his gorgeous wife next to him, who held her miniature dachshund in her arms. "This Fourth of July has been an amazing time. As your leader here in Kuo Kuana, it fills me with joy to see you all having a good time, and it brings me even more joy to see you all accept the humans in the crowd as guests to our beautiful town."

The crowd cheered at that and Ghira smiled. "I see you all enjoyed the performance given by our very own miss Hotaru and her friends. When she came to me to ask if this stage could be built for a band to perform, I thought it was the perfect way to make this year's Fourth of July special. But..."

Ghira looked past the crowd and to the sea, and he smiled even more. "That isn't the only thing Kali and I had been asked about."

When Ghira said that, Kali smiled and spoke into her scroll. "Set it off~"

A few moments after she said that, everyone heard a bang in the sky behind them and the night lit up in a dull red flash. That caused everyone to turn around to see the first firework being set off in the sky a littleways offshore, courtesy of the crew of the Sea Drifter. All the Faunus of Menagerie looked up to the sky in wonder as the fireworks show began starting with that first one. Most of them had never been able to experience something like this in their lives because of companies being too set in their ways to provide the fireworks for them, but now, it was happening and everyone grew very excited about it.

"Please enjoy yourselves tonight," Kali spoke into the microphone to everyone, "We're happy to be able to finally give you a proper Fourth of July. Have a good night."

Kali and Ghira stepped away and the lights on the stage were cut off to let the Faunus' vision be unobscured as they enjoyed the fireworks,which kicked off in a myriad of colors from red to blue to green and anything that showed against the star filled sky. The two stepped off the stage and walked along the beach a small ways until they were a small ways away from everyone. Kali noticed the wide smile on Ghira's face when they stopped, and that just made her smile as well.

"Good night?" Kali asked her husband.

"A very good night," Ghira answered and sat in the sand, pulling Kali into his lap, "Seeing everyone so happy... There is nothing else like it, "He reached around Kali and used a couple of his fingers to pet Ginger, "I'm glad you had this idea."

Kali giggled at that as she gently stroked Ginger's fur as she sat happily in the Faunus' lap. "Don't thank me, dear. If we didn't have the connections to Aulin and Alex for their cargo deliveries, this most likely wouldn't have been possible."

Ghira wrapped his free arm around Kali's stomach and rubbed gently with his fingers as a larger firework went off, exploding in a design of a rose. "That's very true. Those two and their entire crew deserve a drink for what they've done for us."

On the other side of the beach, Ruby let out a cheer and bounced in her seat as she saw the bright red rose flashing in the sky. "Wooo that was awesome!"

Her seat... "Ow ow ow! Rubes, watch the hair!" being the blonde monkey Faunus boy she had grown closer too thanks to their girlfriend.

"You only think it was awesome because it was a rose," Blake said with a smirk, her eyes lighting up as another firework went off in the sky, this time exploding into a bright green design of Vale's emblem, "Ooh that one was pretty."

"Hey, can you blame me for that?" Ruby asked with a giggle, "And sorry, Sun!"

Sun rubbed his head past where he was holding Ruby's thighs to keep her steady on his shoulders. "Geez, you can really get excited about stuff, can't you?"

Blake laughed at that. "You have no idea."

Sakura and Ebony sat on the beach near the water on a few towels, both of them barefoot as they shared drinks of a large bottle of cherry soda that Ebony kept cold with her dust. Both of them were watching the fireworks in wonder as each one streaked through the sky from the Sea Drifter. Eventually, Sakura and Ebony looked to the side and saw Fluffy walking along the beach before sitting next to them both.

He growled lightly. "Hello again, girls."

"Hi Fluffy!" Ebony greeted him, "It's nice seeing you!"

"What brings you over?" Sakura asked the black wolf.

"Seeing what the commotion was about," Fluffy replied and looked up to the sky where a few more fireworks went off, "First was your singing, and then this."

Sakura laughed a bit at that and petted his fur. "It's gonna last for a while, sorry."

"Oooh look!" Ebony exclaimed as a larger firework went into the air, exploding into a big ferris wheel of numerous colors, "So pretty!"

"That's certainly not the only thing that's pretty." Sakura remarked with a smile.

"Yeah, I know~" Ebony said, smiling and looking into Sakura's eyes, "I love you, Saki."

Sakura smiled brightly at that. "And I love you, Ebby."

On the Sea Drifter, Alex and Aulin watched with big grins on their faces as their crew set off firework after firework into the sky above them for the citizens and visitors of Kuo Kuana. "It was very nice of you both to want to do this." Their teammate Bell said next to them.

"We couldn't refuse when Kali contacted us," Aulin replied as she watched another one being launched into the sky, "I can just tell everyone is enjoying the show. This is one of those times that's gonna stick in my mind for the rest of my life, and I hope the kids on the beach over there feel the same."

Alex nodded in agreement as another rocket went off in the air, this time exploding into the Belladonna flower emblem in white, which was followed by the original and untainted unity-driven White Fang emblem in white as well. "The people here deserve it for all the crap they're put through because of racist idiots."

Bell nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. I hope Inu is enjoying his time with his family right now."

"Aww don't worry about your boyfriend, Belly," Aulin grinned and put her arm around the priestess' shoulders, "You know he is."

Bell rolled her eyes. "I do. And he is not my boyfriend."

The grand finale finally came a little while later as numerous fireworks exploded in the sky in a variety of colors, each of them letters that spelled out "Goodbye, and good night!" In all capital letters, ending with a few nore large fireworks going off creating all the Kingdoms' emblems with the good White Fang emblem in the the middle of them all, symbolizing the goal of unity between all Kingdoms and both humans and Faunus.

Ghira and Kali had very big smiles on their faces as the display ended and at hearing the cheers of all the Faunus on the beach, especially the children. "Kali dear, I think this was a success." Ghira remarked happily.

Kali nodded as she petted Ginger in her lap, who was howling happily after watching the show. "I believe so. Hearing all the children cheering and sounding so happy... It's a wonderful feeling."

Ghira nodded and kissed her on the cheek. "It truly is. Now, I think we should wish everyone a good night."

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nerdsideofthemedia · 5 years

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Should the term “Mary Sue” be retired?

The original.

I didn’t have any intention of posting my non-RWBY, non-MHA blog posts here, but here’s this one seems to be becoming important with the rise of the claims that Arya Stark is a Mary Sue. So here it goes:

In my walks through Dan Olson’s twitter, I came across this:

Which got me thinking: is the term “Mary Sue” completely pointless?

Before I wonder about this question, let’s take a quick journey through time. In the 70s, Paula Smith noticed a character pattern among the Star Trek fanfic and created a parody to point this out, “A Trekkies’s Tale”, whose protagonist was called Mary Sue. During the following years, the “Mary Sue” wasn’t necessarily considered as something bad, instead it was considered as a phase every writer will go through as it was intimately associated with self-inserts and was only applied to fan-fictions1;2.

In recent years, the term has left the fanfic and began being applied to original fiction too, losing its meaning along the way and gaining a pretty negative connotation. In fact, nowadays, “Mary Sue” is such an extremely subjective term that even TV Tropes admits:

“TV Tropes doesn’t get to set what the term means, the best we can do is capture the way it is used.” 1

Hell, I’ve even come across with this subjectivity, as once I called Orihime from Bleach a Mary Sue, on youtube, and one person defended my use of it by explaining she was liked by everyone, which wasn’t the reason I considered a Mary Sue to begin with and consider that justification to be pretty dumb.

Why is being liked by everyone not a good parameter?

Have you ever read/watched a shonen? Most of the good guys are on good terms. Even when there is some animosity between a main character and another one, it’s usually because of the other, like Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z, who dislikes Goku because he’s better than him, not because of anything egregious the latter did. In “My Hero Academia”, Bakugo hated Midoriya mostly because of pride and arrogance (they are now on good terms). Yes, the Avengers may have not loved each other from the get-go, but, by the end of the film, they were ready to live happily ever after. And when the sequels even stop (they never will), they will end up being on good terms.

Another definition of what is a “Mary Sue” is it’s a character that is overpowered/great set of skills + tragic backstory, (sometimes even without the latter). So let’s take a look at:

Superman: an alien whose planet was destroyed, adopted by 2 humans, and has a set of skills that would make Goku turn… Well, he would probably just find it cool, but Vegeta’s head would explode for sure as he threw a temper tantrum. His powers include flying, super speed and strength (to the point of almost completely invulnerability), X-ray and heat vision.

Bruce Wayne: a poor (not literally) orphan who was raised by his butler and whose riches go beyond Taylor Swift’s wildest dreams, let alone poor (far more literal) little us. Thanks to it, he has access to technology that has little to no limitations, yet his money never ends.

Goku: an alien whose planet was destroyed, adopted by an old man who was killed by him in giant monkey-form. Not only he can fly, he is particularly powerful even for his people even though he’s a low-level specimen according to the planet’s hierarchic structure.

Ichigo: a guy who turns out to be part-Hollow, part-Shinigami, part-Vizard, part-who-the-hell-even-cares-anymore, even though some of them are pretty rare.

Harry Potter: an orphan raised by his aunt and her family, who all treat him badly, finds out he’s a wizard and finds out his parents have left him a mountain of gold (literally). Everyone either admires him or feels jealous as he is famous for “defeating” a particularly powerful wizard as a baby, without any damages besides a scar. He’s also part of a prophecy.

What about those self-inserts?

I guess we could still use the term as just a self-insert, but considering that most of the time we don’t know the writers, then we can only know their self-insertion if they tell us.

It also doesn’t justify its negative connotation. Writers are people, I presume, which means they have flaws. So why is a character based on oneself bad? Provided the writers are realistic and self-aware, those should be some of the most realistic characters. Now, I know there’s a trap in here, which is the tendency of favoring ourselves and make us just a bit (or a lot) more special than we actually are, but 1) this doesn’t necessarily happen to every self-insert; 2) that can happen whenever writers begin to favor a character for whatever reason, even if it wasn’t a self-insert, leading it to become more and more special or less flawed.

They’re the personification of perfection.

OK, except perfection seems to be kind of subjective, since what I like isn’t the same as everyone else’s. I mean I may like active characters and some may like passive characters. You may think perfection is pizza without pineapple, while I say “you are objectively wrong”.

Jokes asides, being different human beings, usually we end up writing “perfect” characters with our definition of it, which may not correspond to someone else’s.

For example, Bella Swan is called “Mary Sue” a lot for being perfect, but she’s deeply flawed. She’s co-dependent and suicidal. Edward Cullen is the one “Gary Stu” that actually stuck, yet he’s manipulative and a stalker. Yet, there is truth to the claim they are perfect, not to me, but to Stephanie Meyers as they are both idealizations to her, regardless of our opinions of them.

I suppose a character can be drop dead gorgeous, have all sorts of skills and being loved by everyone, but, eventually, he/she will make something that many will consider to be wrong. If that doesn’t happen, then there’s probability not a good conflict, which reveals that, maybe, the problem is in the story itself, not necessarily in the character.

Speaking of subjectivity in flaws and virtues…

“So why did you used to call Orihime a Mary Sue?”

Well, because I thought her flaws were inconsequential with Bleach begging me to sympathize with her for awful reasons and smart characters being really stupid, meaning causing unnecessary plot-hole or plot-contrivance for her. The few most glaring examples I recall (and I’ve read/watched Bleach at least half a century ago, so it’s possible there are a few lapses in my memory) being:

Her almost kissing Ichigo while he was unconscious. That scene is framed as if I am supposed to sympathize with her, instead of what it actually is: creepy as hell and also falls under almost sexual assault in many countries.

Her having an obsession for Ichigo to the point of only thanking him for coming for her in her mind, even though Rukia, Chad, Uryu and Renji were also there to save her. This again is framed as I’m supposed to empathize with her, instead of thinking she’s being narrow-minded and has an unhealthy obsession with Ichigo.

About others acting stupid: Uryu takes her to where Ichigo and Ulquiorra are fighting even though where they were before, Ichigo was losing cause he was holding back to avoid hurting her. Yes, the other place was bigger, but their powers were huge and Uryu taking Orihime should have been a stupid idea (and he’s supposed to be smart).

Not to mention, of course, she resurrects Ichigo by crying and yelling his name which was also major bullshit.

And yes, it’s time to talk about the gender-thing and to admit to my own prejudices despite being a woman, because Orihime isn’t the only character I know who has her flaws not being acknowledged or being perceived as good. Many male characters have all of those yet, I still don’t call them “Gary Stu” or any other male equivalent.

Sun Wukong from RWBY has pretty much all the same problems as Orihime: he stalks Blake for months yet faces no actual consequences. And his actions were framed in the show as “needed”, even though they weren’t since the entire Menagerie arc could be written without him with only minor changes. Creepy actions being framed as right and sympathetic – check.

He also abandons his team several times, which, again, was inconsequential (even if he confesses to being an awful leader in V6) and no way in hell a combat school would interrupt classes for an entire year. He’s completely oblivious of the Faunus struggle, though he’s a Faunus and goes to school in one of the most racist territories. And Blake goes from super paranoid to so relaxed she doesn’t even believe him when he says he saw a WF member wearing a mask for no apparent reason. If I had to guess it’s because if she kept being super paranoid, it would stand to reason she would be the one noticing Ilia spying all by herself, rendering him almost useless and without interrupting her talk to Ghira, which would have made Sun completely pointless. At some point, Orihime became all about Ichigo, Sun was always all about Blake (until V6).

Like I said, I have criticized Sun for being badly written, unnecessary and the contrivances his presence demanded, but I have never ever called a “Gary Stu”. Looking back, I think it’s a combination of a few reason:

I know “Mary Sue” is a term too subjective to be used without an explanation afterwards;

We just don’t tend to hold the same standards for male characters;

Even when we use them for male characters, it almost never sticks.

And I know I’m not the only one doing this.

Once, I came across an article that accused several characters of being a “Mary Sue”, including Orihime, but because she’s too perfect (are you sure about that?) and Sailor Moon, yet claimed Goku wasn’t one. It’s particularly funny, because Sailor Moon is written to be more flawed than Goku (even if I much higher tolerance for Dragon Ball and DBZ to Sailor Moon).

Goku is an absent father and husband, yet his family never really holds that against him. His wife may complain about it a few times during the anime, but there’s no real strife between them and Gohan never holds it against him either. He gives Cell a senzu bean so that he and Gohan can have a fair fight, even though the entire world is at stake. It still is mostly inconsequential, until Gohan’s arrogance gets in the way.

Meanwhile, Sailor Moon is stupid, coward and petty many times, and it’s clear the writers knew it because they acknowledge those flaws within the show. She is mocked because of them, and her lack of resilience even leads to the death of one of the Sailors in a season finale, if I remember correctly (admittedly, I watched it 5 centuries ago, so I might be wrong). Yes, I know they come back from the death.

This is not an argument that Goku should be called a “Mary Sue/Gary Stu”, rather that the term is heavily gendered. It’s much more applied to female characters and even when used for a male one, it almost never sticks. Even in the example I gave, Edward Cullen, which was successfully labeled as “Gary Stu”, still feels like it was gendered-motivated. Not because of his own, obviously, but for the target audience’s: the majority girls and women. So there we notice another double-standard: the sex of the target audience also affects the claims to “Sueness”.

Ultimately, I have to agree with Dan, with the term “Mary Sue” being too subjective to actually have any validity and is deeply rooted in sexism. Explaining why a character doesn’t work for us and why we think they’re badly written is far more productive. Let’s keep in mind, we aren’t supposed to like every character writers make, even the ones who are meant to be likable and relatable.

Note: Yes, I watched Overly Sarcastic Productions’ video on the subject. While I like Red’s take, I’d say almost no character in original fiction fits the mold. That in itself wouldn’t be the problem, but the fact that it will remain extremely subjective, I still find the term to be counter-productive, heavily gendered and it needs to die.

1 – https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue

2 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue

#mary sue #stop calling female characters mary sue #female character #misogyny #writing #writing female characters #sexism #fandom #twilight #sailor moon

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biggreenneatbox · 6 years

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RWBY Sexuality Headcanons

Fuck it; 2018 is rounding off, I’m a lottle drunk and I remembered saying something on @ladyvallhalla‘s Twiiter post. Let’s expand, shall we?

These are my personal headcanons for characters’ sexualities in RWBY, and the ones I often drift to. I’m branching a little bit from the main four but point’s the same throughout

Fisrt, a disclaimer - I really enjoy | OmegaInfinity |’s story “Linked in Life and Love” on Fanfiction.net. In it, the use of Mate Marks is explored, where Faunus can mark their partner(s) and various things occur. Ever since then, I see ALL Faunus as Bisexual (I know what you’re thinking, and I’ll explore and explain that in a bit). Some prefer one gender over another, but most would happily join in a polyship if their partner so wanted. There are some exceptions, like Adam because fuck Adam with everything sharp, poisonous and deadly in this world and the next! So, all Faunus will have an * next to their name, to denote that all of them are Bisexual to an extent, and that this is what I HC them as displaying most of the time.

Ruby Rose

Asexual

Our Silver Eyed Cinnamon Bun doesn’t really care for anything like that. She loves weapons, and she wants to protect her friends. As time progresses, that doesn’t change and that’s just who she is.

If I was forced to put her with anyone, I’d say Oscar due to their similar-ish ages (ignoring one huge outlier in the boy’s head). But honestly, Ruby saw someone younger tagging along. This is the first time since attending Beacon that she has actually had a chance to lead someone who hasn’t had as much world experience as her. She jumped at that chance, took him under his wing and gave him the Rose / Xiao Long Hospitality and Big Sis Role that she had grown up experiencing with Yang.

Weiss Schnee

SO tough to decide!

Like, seriously. I put down “Confused” on the original tweet, but with it being a tweet I couldn’t expand on that.

Weiss has lived a life of luxury, getting what she wants a lot of the time, not being given it if she doesn’t want it. There were a few smaller things she had to do on her Father’s request when she was younger, and she didn’t particularly enjoy that, but she stomached it as best she could to please him.

When she became of age to date, he forced her into it, and she was not happy at all. For a long time, it was shitty suitor after shitty suitor, so she outright denied a lot of people a chance at getting close to her, because they were just what Jacques wanted.

Neptune comes along, and suddenly there’s someone she finds attractive, but that goes nowhere and she’s at a loss.

It’s only when she has to deal with Shitty Neptune Henry Marigold does she really find that type of person repulsive.

Similarly, when RWBY reunites, she feels love like she has only really felt before in Klein, who loves her like a daughter and because it is his job. This is true, unconditional love, and she doesn’t know what to do. So, she does nothing, and accepts it as what it is.

Blake Belladonna*

Bisexual / Homosexual

Dated Adam (regrets for rest of life) = Likes Guys In love with Yang = Like Girls Put ‘em together = Bisexual

Though, as mentioned, I’d have to say she leans more towards Homosexual in my mind as tome progresses. Maybe that’s just how much she and Yang seem to gravitate towards each other recently, but I think that there’s really no one else for Blake.

Yang Xiao Long

Punsexual / Homosexual

Sexually attracted to the greatest pun in the room. … Providing it was a girl said the pun.

I see Yang as once having aboyfriend at Signal when she was much younger. This was as she was just *ahem* developing, and she soon learnt that boys are idiots who only wanted one thing, especially aat that age. She would have said something and tried to move on, if not for the fact he said things about Ruby. She got detention that day for breaking his noes with a single punch. Tai was secretly pruod.

That was Yang’s first boyfriend, and one of the soul reasons she hasn’t had a second. Non eof the girls said things to Ruby.

Speaking of, at Beacon with tht one scene EVERYONE seemingly sites as th reason for Yang being bi, yknow “I know I do~”, that’s sisterly banter; it’s a big sister trying to get her younger sibling to interact with others. Plus, Yanf assumed Ruby would be into that. Yang was wrong.

Jaune Arc

Straight

Stupid and blind, but straight. Took after his big sister saphron in that regard - chasing after the girls ;)

She was better atit though.

Nora Valkyrie

Rensexual

NOUN: Capable of romantic and sexual feelings towards people of the name “Lie Ren” exclusively.

Seriously, they wewr made for each other. Nora just persues it more, especially in the Poser / Beacon Era of the show.

Though, outside of that, I say she’s actually Pan(cake)sexual. She seems like someone who doesn’t care at all who she’s with, long as they’re both happy.

Pyrrha Nikos

Straight

Same scenarios as Weiss in her childhood and young tennagey ears, though less confused by the end of it.

Pyrrha had a lot going for her with her skill in the arena. As she made tours and attended various promotional events, people tried to woo her. It didn’t work, and she apologised for it. She wasn't in the wrong, she didn’t like disappointing anyone (it became an automatic response as time went on)

Her mother and father weren’t rich like Schnees were, but they had enough. Pyrrha honestly mad e more than them in three tournament wins than they did in the same time, and that’s not including the fourth win under her belt. So people just wanted to be with Pyrrha for the sake of dating a celebrity, rather than dating and marrying Weiss for the position of near uncontested power.

Then Jaune came along, someone who saw Pyrrha Nikos for her, not “Pyrrha ‘The Golden Girl’ Nikos”, or “Four Time Champion, Pyrrha Nikos”, or “the next teenager whose life I’m going to completely tear asunder and condemn to a life of solitude and pain.”

She loved being around him because he was genuine, if a bit slow on noticing. And for those brief final minutes of her life, she was happy to have found him.

Lie Ren

Straight

Nora wont let him be anything else.

Nah, he’s had Nora with him for a very long time, longer than his own parents. They’d technically been dating since they were old enough to know about it.

Another HC I have about Ren was that he had an endgoal in mind when attending Beacon. The Grimm that killed his parents needed to die. So he became stronger to join Beacon, then deal with it upon graduation. It’s why he held Nora’s hand after Kuroyuri and not vice versa - the thing he’d been after was gone, and a weight was off his shoulders. He didn’t need to worry, and he could live a life again.

Oscar Pine

Straight, BUUUUUUUUUUUUT...

He’s a young child with a man born in the First Age of Humanity locked inside his head.

Ignoring Ozpin’s presence, I’d pair him with Ruby.

Otherwise, no.

Sun Wukong* / Neptune Vasilias

Straight

I adore Sea Monkeys. It’s a guilty ship of mine. But they’re straight. Sun followed his boner after Blake, and Neptune is a serial flirter. Even with...

Ilia Amitola*

Homosexual

She needed mentioning, for obvious reasons.

Personallu, even with my Faubus HC of them all being Bi still holding fast, Ilia is one of the other canon exceptions to the rule. She really wouldn’t want to be with anyone other than another girl. If push came to shove and she had to be in a poly, lest lose her girlfriend to a man, she would let her date him whilst she herself still dated her, but she would not date him personally.

“I’m Ilia. This is my girlfriend Gretta. And this is Gretta’s boyfriend, David.” This, she’d allow. She wouldn’t enjoy it, but she’d allow it.

Emerald Sustrai

Straight, yet Bi-Curious

I see it as Emerald not knowing what she is to anyone. She has only let one person really close, and that was Cinder. Cinder treated her like a kid, sure. But growing up without that parental figure made her look up to the Maiden to Be as that sort of figure. As time moved on, Emerald was wondering if these feeling were growing more into something romantic.

She never acted on those feelings in case things went south and that was Cinder gone from her ife forever or her own life gone forever. Still, she is unsure. Even now, as SPOILERS HERE, CANNOT WRITE

Cinder Fall

Sorry, I just love this GIF, I had to use it.

Whatever she needed to be

It always seemed to me that Cinder would do whatever she wanted or needed to get information. It never seemed below her to use her looks and charm to work her way into where she needed to be. Some dude wanted to turn on the charm? Sure, let’s see what he’ll spill. A woman flirting with her at a bar? Well, if she’s got something of use to her - physical possession or pertinent knowledge - then might as well flirt back.

Honestly, I couldn’t classify her if I tried. I’m sure there’s something that would describe how I think she is. Drunk me doesn't knoe shit.

No romantic connection to anyone, but will seek a sexual partner of either gender if the need arises.

Aaand, that’s everyone I care about writing this for.

Have a happy new Year y’all!

#rwby #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #Team RWBY #jaune arc #nora valkyrie #pyrrha nikos #lie ren #Team JNPR #oscar pine #sun wukong #neptune vasilias #ilia amitola #emerald sustrai #cinder fall

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toaarcan · 6 years

Text

“Why are you even here?!”- A spot of RWBY Analysis

So, in the wake of Volume 5 and today’s soundtrack release tearing our Bee-shipping hearts out of our chests, we’re starting to get a picture of where the show is headed.

I’m not going to give an in-depth analysis of ‘All That Matters’ myself. It’s already been done better than I ever could several times over. I will cover the bases, though, just for context, in case this is somehow the first post on the subject you’ve found.

1) Yang is absolutely heartbroken by Blake leaving. We kinda knew this already but this is absolute confirmation.

2) Yang thinks Blake doesn’t care about her in the same way, which is erroneous, but she doesn’t know and gaaaahh, someone give the poor girl a hug, she needs it.

3) Despite believing that Blake doesn’t love her, Yang will willingly deal with the pain this causes her, just to have Blake around, because that’s All That Matters to her.

That should cover it, I think.

Alright, so now we know that endgame Bees is absolutely a thing. Like where is the show going to go from here except in the BumbleBY direction? This is a path that we’ve been headed down since Volume 3 at the latest, probably since Volume 1 if the little animation details that have been pointed out from those episodes are anything to go by. And they are, because in an animated medium, corpsing is not a thing. Any expression or body language the character makes is entirely within the animator’s hands.

So, we’re headed in the direction of Bees, but that means I’m going to have to address the elephant, or rather monkey, in the room.

Yeah, I’m going to be the guy that brings up Sun.

Now, before I go any further, I want to clear the air. I don’t hate Sun. I think he’s a decent character, he’s had some great scenes and moments, and he’s not awful comic relief, though I don’t find him very funny.

No, I’m bringing him up because I’m starting to question why he’s even around.

Y’see, back when V3 dropped, I was convinced that we were going to get Blacksun/Eclipse first, and then BumbleBY after that. I was also convinced that Sun was going to get offed by Adam ahead of the final battle between BY and the punchable edgelord himself.

There’s this part in Journey to the West wherein Sun Wukong (Yes, RT didn’t change the name at all, and yes, that does bother me more than it should) fights a Bull Demon King, and we know that RT likes to put little allusions to the cast’s inspirations into the show, like Jaune’s tormentor being named after Cardinal Winchester, Yang fighting both a dude in a bear mask and a group of Ursa, Ruby’s association with Beowolves, Pyrrha taking an arrow to her Achilles’ tendon during her last stand, etc.

There would also be reason enough for Sun and Adam to fight. Not just because of their mutual thing for Blake, but also because of their differing ideologies. Adam despises humanity and his rage over the way the Faunus have been treated has made him into the monster he is today. Meanwhile, Sun is very friendly with humans and is even on a team with three of them, while appearing to be completely oblivious of the Faunus’ plight entirely, somehow. Trust me, I’ll be getting back to that.

In Journey to the West, the Monkey King wins this battle, because he is a staggeringly powerful character who is basically unstoppable, even for actual gods. In RWBY? Well, RT has shown that just because they make references to the myths in which their characters draw basis, doesn’t mean they’re going to follow those to a T.

At the tail end of Volume 3, the general assumption was that Adam was going to be built up as an unstoppable threat, that Blake and Yang would have to take down together. Now, after Volume 5, it’s clear that I, and everyone else, was wrong. Adam’s power in V3 has been revealed to be a case of him using Blake’s fear and Yang’s rage to his advantage, maintaining control of the situation and using that to dominate them in combat. When Blake confronts him in V5, she has all the control and isn’t afraid of him, so he has no power over her and loses the fight.

Because it was assumed that Adam would be built up, I thought that the best way for this to escalate was to have him make good on his threat to “destroy everyone that Blake loves”, or at least start. And given that it wasn’t going to be one of the main four, and he has nothing to do with JNR, the only obvious option was Sun, which, tied in with the above, made it all add up into a further tragedy.

Now, I’m not so sure. With the SS BumbleBY already at full steam, and Adam’s role being a different one that what I expected, I’m less confident that my theory of “Blake and Sun hook up, Adam kills Sun, Yang and Blake defeat Adam, Yang helps Blake heal, Blake and Yang hook up” is going to come to fruition. I feel like we’re headed straight for BY hookup and that’s that, and the show seems to support that.

That, then, brings me back to the title, and my question as to why Sun was even added to the show in the first place.

It seems as though Sun’s primary role in the show is to give Blake someone to talk to when she’s running away from RWY. Both times, at the end of V1 and all through V4 and most of V5, this results in exposition about the plight of the Faunus, the birth and corruption of the White Fang, etc. Now I don’t think this is bad writing. In fact I would prefer if characters took the time to discuss the history and lore as part of the show itself rather than having the WoR shorts. However, in this specific case, having Blake explain this detail to Sun, rather than to RWY or JNPR, has the unfortunate side effect of making Sun look like a total ignoramus when it comes to his own history and the prejudices that the people around him have against him.

Now, if Sun had spent his entire life somewhere like Vale, where Faunus discrimination is lower, I could somewhat see this. It would still make him totally oblivious of the White Fang itself, which would be weird, but still. However, Sun is a student from Haven Academy, and Mistral is supposed to be second only to Atlas for Faunus rights issues.

Sun’s other character trait is his crush on Blake, but given the dearth of Blacksun content across Volume 5, the heavy BumbleBY content in the same volume, and the soundtrack providing not just a new Bees song (Which retroactively confirms ‘Wings’ as another Bees song for the four people who weren’t already convinced) but also no Blacksun song, well, doesn’t look like that’s going anywhere.

Ultimately, we end up with a character that, if I’m being quite blunt with y’all, needn’t have even existed in the first place if Volume 1 had been a little better written.

For the Volume 4-5 stuff, Blake has Ghira and Kali to talk to, and more scenes if those three together would’ve been great.

For Volume 1, have Blake run away and ditch her bow, as-in the show. Then focus on RWY and Penny trying to find her, learning that there’s a White Fang group in the town and discover that Blake is heading for their rendez-vous point on her own.

Build up the suspense as this progresses- Why is Blake looking for the White Fang? Is she possibly trying to rejoin them in some form? When they get there, they find Blake surrounded and trying to stop Roman and his new allies, at which point the three jump in to back her up, and beat up the goons together, while Penny takes out the Bullhead and covers them. Penny should also reveal her weapons when nobody is looking at her, for obvious reasons.

Blake can then explain the origin and corruption of the White Fang to her teammates, and also part of her reason for leaving.

It’s an unfortunate state of affairs for Sun. He feels more like a plot device whose purpose has been fulfilled. Hopefully when he returns (Because I doubt he’s going to Atlas. If they’re taking anyone from the Menagerie/White Fang plot it should be Ilia), they’ll have figured out a proper role for him in the show.

#RWBY #RWBY Critical #BumbleBY #RWBY Analysis #Yang Xiao Long #Blake Belladonna #Sun Wukong #Ruby Rose #Weiss Schnee #jaune arc #Pyrrha Nikos #Cardin Winchester #Ghira Belladonna #Kali Belladonna #Adam Taurus #Eclipse

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texanredrose · 6 years

Text

Omega’s Strength (Pt 5)

As I mentioned at the beginning, I don’t wanna play the guessing game with canon, so here’s where I hash out what liberties I’ve taken to make this non-canon compliant as well as what the plan is going forward.

The official mess was a big, spacious room down the hall on the second deck, with long tables and fixed seats. It never sat well with the majority of their ragtag group, feeling too sterile for comfort and too reminiscent of Beacon for ease, so they instead took their meals in the kitchen area, where the food actually got cooked by whoever pulled the short straw for the day. Most of their rations were the bulk, ready-to-heat style typical for Atlesian military vessels, like the spaghetti and meatballs currently being pushed around her plate by her fork. Ruby had already gone over some things to work on as teams and individuals, with all but the leader of Team SNOW taking well to the criticism. Stryker at least played the role of an interested party, though her gaze seemed to convey a level of concerted disinterest not too dissimilar from Weiss when the Beta was announced as their team leader.

Well, they had experience working with stubborn Alphas. A few good knocks and she'd figure out that the time for fun and games ended a while ago.

"Oh! And, we were able to make contact with Team SSSN!" Ruby announced with a smile that became faked the longer she spoke. "They'll be meeting up with us as soon as possible. Might not be able to reach us before we try infiltrating the base but soon after that! They're, uh, looking forward to seeing us again."

Weiss and Blake exchanged a look, the Alpha's slight frown met with an equally unimpressed raise of her mate's brow. Ultimately, she put her hands up. "We... certainly could use the assistance."

"And they're reliable friends we can trust," the Omega said, pointedly shifting in her seat and likely doing something hidden by the island they were gathered around to set the other woman at ease. "I'm sure a brief word early on is all they'll need to focus on the mission."

"We can certainly hope." Weiss didn't seem convinced and, frankly, Yang didn't blame her; Sun and Neptune hadn't been subtle with their advances and Blake's extended period traveling with the monkey Faunus likely meant the newly bonded mates would have to talk about that at some point in the near future, if they hadn't already. However, as far as Alphas went, Sun landed on the more laid back end of the spectrum, and Neptune could be an admittedly aggressive Beta but proved rather easy to discourage, seeing as he'd never really pursued any of his shameless attempts at flirting. "Do we have any other allies?"

"We're still trying to contact Team CFVY." Her sister frowned. "Professor Goodwitch mentioned that a lot of students stayed back to secure the evacuation for Vale, but communication across the sea is still pretty spotty at best."

Then, Stryker decided to chime in with her first genuine comment since they'd regrouped. "You still call her Professor? This isn't exactly a classroom, you know."

"Showing proper respect to a more experienced Huntress trumps technicalities." Weiss shot back, narrowing her eyes slightly. "We would show you the same courtesy... if it applied."

A flicker of annoyance passed over the woman's face. "Oh, great. You two have the whole 'apple and tree' thing going on."

"And your entire team has the whole 'getting destroyed by people two years your junior' thing going on. It's a very charming theme."

"Weiss," Blake said, her voice neutral. It could be a warning, a reprimand, or an agreement and the majority of them would be none the wiser; only Yang could really get a read enough on the Faunus to tell the single word held more of the former and latter than the middle.

"Look, I get that we're all getting used to each other still, but there's way bigger things going on right now than personal differences," Ruby said, effectively bringing the conversation back on topic. "Normally, I'd be all for duking it out until we can agree to disagree, but we really don't have that option." Her expression hardened, the corners of her lips pulling into a slight frown. "We need to work together, starting now. Any objections?" When Team SNOW shifted, a subtle inhalation proceeding a verbal response, silver eyes shot to the four, irises glistening just a little with untold power. She still hadn’t mastered the enigmatic abilities but they seemed to respond when she thought about certain things, so she could at least try to use them, and it had the desired effect as all movement ceased. "Let me make this really clear. We can use all the help we can get but anyone not willing to put differences aside is just going to get someone else killed in the long run." She leaned back from the kitchen island, crossing her arms over her chest. "This... it's all or nothing. No in between. We've already lost too many friends; I'm not losing any more because of dumb, petty squabbles."

With a small sigh, Stryker nodded, making eye contact with Weiss as she spoke. "Fine. We'll play nice."

Almost immediately, the Alpha opened her mouth to snipe something back but a hand at her elbow stopped her, Blake's fingers soothing the annoyance from her brow easily. Yang watched silently, abandoning any hope of finishing her spaghetti in favor of taking a few steps back and leaning against one of the refrigerators. She couldn't imagine how soothing that must feel, having a mate's touch to calm the storm of one’s anger; getting Weiss to drop a subject once she'd gotten started remained one of the hardest things for her teammates to accomplish, though it seemed now only the sisters were left behind in that department. She'd have to remember that the next time an argument started up about how should be doing the dishes or something.

"What was Sun and them even doing, anyway?" The Omega figured changing the subject now that everyone had agreed to cooperate would be best. Plus, she honestly didn't know; while she was avoiding Blake and trying to figure out what she wanted to say to her partner, the monkey Faunus left on his own mission. "Visiting family?"

"Oh! Right. We should probably go over that." Ruby turned, grabbing something from a bag she'd brought with her and unfolding it. A map of Remnant was laid down on the island after the plates were quickly cleared away. "So, according the the myths and legends that... I guess are actually true, there's four Maidens and four Relics in Remnant, and each can harness the power of either the Light Brother or the Dark Brother." She pointed towards Vale. "We know that Cinder stole the Fall Maiden powers in Vale and that Ozpin has one of the relics hidden somewhere on Beacon grounds. It's why we're trying to make contact with Team CFVY; they can retrieve it for us, since he’d removed it from the vault before Beacon fell." Her finger trailed along the paper to Mistral. "Sun, meanwhile, took his team to try retrieving the relic from Vacuo. If we can collect all four, we can combine them and harness the Light Brother's power to banish Grimm."

"Wait, I thought we were fighting some sort of secret society thing?" Oswald's expression screwed up as he looked at the map. "Why do we need to worry about the Grimm?"

Blake answered him, her expression smooth despite the hint of fear in her eyes. "We are and most of our primary enemies are flesh and blood people. Their leader, however, is some sort of combination- possibly a symbiotic Grimm that combined with a Human to create the creature we are trying to defeat. Salem doesn't appear to have a particular power to command the Grimm, but she can summon them and her base of operations is in the center of a Grimm breeding ground." Absently, her hand reached out, briefly touching the handle of Blush and Wilt attached to her back. Yang couldn't help but wince, remembering all too vividly the trials they went through to gain that bit of intel. Even if she'd yet to actually draw the blade in combat, she carried it more often than not as a reminder and it never failed to pull a concerned twitch from Weiss' brows. "If we can destroy Salem and weaken the Grimm, her pawns will fold soon after."

"But what about these Maidens?" Nigel nodded towards Ruby. "We should try recruiting them to our side, eh? Maybe get one or two out of the remaining three to join us?"

Yang had to physically bite her tongue to keep from speaking her mind on that front.

"Finding them is the hard part," Weiss said. "Aside from the fact they're moving targets, the Maidens' powers are limited to mortal fallibility the same as our semblances. Add to that we're fairly confident that Salem is the Winter Maiden and we've got one person out of millions to find, and only the hope that she'll be a Huntresses. The way the powers transfer, she could just as easily be a teenager rather than an adult warrior."

Everyone unfamiliar with the Maidens' story cringed at that while Yang looked away.

Wisteria tugged on Oswald’s sleeve and he nodded slowly. “That’s only accounting for three out of four- Winter, Fall, and one other. What about the fourth?”

“The Spring Maiden won’t help us.” On top of everything else, she didn't need to think of her mother as well, a harsh edge to her voice as she glared at him. “She doesn’t trust Ozpin and that matters more than anything else, even our lives.”

Thankfully, Ruby decided to press on quickly, a small smile directed at Oswald.

"Basically, it's a gamble we really can't take... and we also have to be prepared if the Maidens try to stop us." The Beta sighed, brushing a hand through her red tipped hair. "After the debacle in Mistral, we're probably going to be labelled threats soon; Salem has agents in every kingdom hierarchy, and they're working against us. Revealing ourselves to people and hoping they'll listen- it's just going to be a bigger and bigger risk the further we pursue it. Which is why we're going to try to find Salem's Atlesian agent; if we're lucky, we can draw attention towards a direct method of engagement while others find the relics. Once we have all four, we can hit Salem hard and end this, once and for all."

Everyone nodded as a sort of firm determination settled over them, with Jaune being the one to move the proceedings along. "So, what are we going to do here in northern Atlas?"

Ruby breathed in deeply, letting out in a long sigh. "Well. That's the fun part."

She bent over the map again, pointing to a spot near the most northern part of inhabited territory in all of Mantle, drawing everyone's attention to it while she explained the plan.

Yang laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She'd thought about the whole mission plan from start to finish a dozen times already, hammering her part in the whole thing home. Using the spare uniforms and equipment left aboard the ship, they would infiltrate the Atlesian base and try to find Salem's agent. Winter and Weiss would remain back with the ship, the former Professors plus Qrow on the edge to create diversions if things got too hot, and Team SNOW would be there to walk them into the perimeter; it would be on Teams RBY and ORNJ to find the rat. They didn't have much to go on except that this gear in the machine seemed to about as important as Cinder- an elevated pawn, but a pawn nonetheless. Winter had already given them her thoughts on who it could be and tips for what things they should seek out, but they were essentially flying blind.

The Omega didn't like it. Too much sneaking around, too much subterfuge- she didn't believe for a second she could fool anyone into believing she was a member of the Atlesian military and banking on a charming smile seemed like dooming them to failure. Team SNOW had agreed to help teach them basics- greetings and simple acronyms- but it seemed like they were leaving too much up to chance.

However, an open fight against a fully staffed outpost didn't bode well, either. Qrow had managed to secure them enough dust rounds to be a good stockpile for when they launched the last stage of Ruby's plan against Salem's headquarters, but they didn't have the resources to go into a full blown firefight every other day.

Something would go wrong. She could tell already; Ruby's plans usually worked out pretty well, but her best ones were always formulated in the middle of the problem, the heat of battle, when seconds meant life or death. The rush helped her think and, while this probably constituted the best plan they'd be able to manage given the situation, it wouldn't be until something went terribly wrong that the real plan came out.

She just had to make sure everyone made it that far.

Loud banging on her door jolted her into awareness, glaring at the entrance to her quarters and sighing. Aside from the dull drone of the engines as they pushed further north, everything had fallen silent on the ship and most everyone should be asleep, preparing for the busy day tomorrow. They had about thirty six hours to become believable soldiers; it didn't leave much room for slacking.

With a muttered curse, she got up and went to the door, opening it and finding a scowl coming to her features.

"Hey," Stryker said, one arm against the wall as she nonchalantly stood in front of the blonde. "Still awake, I see."

"Very observant." She crossed her arms over her chest, already guessing how things were about to go. "Wanna get it off your chest now or are you going to waste time trying to woo me?"

"You're really taking the fun out of this, Blondie." The Alpha sighed, running a hand through her hair and missing the twitch of Yang's eye. "Look, I just figure we could help each other out here. Blow off some steam." The blonde growled, showing her teeth a little. Not the least bit intimidated by her display, Stryker chuckled. "Oh come on! Is a little bit of mutual enjoyment too much to ask?"

"Use your hand," Yang replied. "I'm not interested."

"You can't lie for shit, you know that? You're definitely interested in a little action." Pushing off the wall, the other woman took one step closer, nearly invading the Omega's space. "Just... from a different Alpha." Anger flashed across Yang's expression quicker than she could think to stop it, her right hand shooting forward to grab Stryker's lapel and bring her close, left hand drawing back for a punch aimed in the middle of that smug smile. She stopped before putting her fist forward, though, a twitch in her brow speaking to the effort of not immediately following through with the blow. "Touched a nerve, did I? Or is this your version of foreplay?"

"You're really asking for a beating, you know that?" Putting the Alpha through a wall, while cathartic, most likely wouldn't help her in the slightest. Besides that, a question burned on the tip of her tongue and she was using the majority of her energy to keep it locked behind her teeth. In the end, she couldn't, her eyes darting away as her shoulders dropped slightly. "Am I really that obvious?"

"Not really." Stryker shrugged, not bothering to remove the fist still holding her jacket while ticking off her fingers with every bit of 'evidence' she'd gathered during her brief time aboard the ship. "You're not bonded, you just came off heat from what I can tell, there's only one Alpha you get super tense around, she seems to be avoiding you like a pack of Ursa, your entire team seems super worried about you, and you really don't like me arguing with her." Her eyes darted down to the prosthetic before coming back to meet lilac, raising a brow in the process. "I took a stab in the dark that you're hung up on the Specialist and can't get her attention. Her loss, really; Omega like you needs a more attentive Alpha. Plus, she seems like a hardass-"

"There's nothing wrong with Winter." With a shove, she released the woman, scowling at her with her eyes flashing red. "What's going on between us isn't any of your business, and I'm not interested in you."

Catching her balance, Stryker smoothed out her jacket and cracked a smile. "Alright. But if that itch gets too bad, just come find me. I'll scratch it for you, no strings attached."

Not bothering to dignify that with a response, Yang hit the button to close her door and another to engage the lock, stalking back to her bed while quietly fuming. By the time she reached it, though, she had to sit on the edge, head in her hands as she sighed. Obviously, her efforts to appear unaffected hadn't worked, and if she couldn't fool a perfect stranger than the rest of her team had to know as well. They were likely just giving her time and space, remaining supportive without pushing her too far. She could appreciate that but she'd wished someone had told her how pathetic she was acting.

Winter didn't want her. Pining for the woman... there were better uses of her energy.

She leaned back to flop on her bed, staring unseeing at the ceiling once more. Anger spiked and mellowed in waves over different parts of the brief interaction- the slights against Winter, the teasing that she'd normally allow from friends but not strangers, but what stuck out most was her own foolish choice of words. Like an idiot, she'd gone with 'what's going on between us', an entire fabrication if ever there was one and wishful thinking getting the better of her. The Omega's propensity to go all in had created something within her mind, a give-and-take that never actually existed, and she kept buying into it just so she wouldn't feel alone. She felt so pathetic being this broken up over the whole ordeal still. What, would she just keep wallowing in self-imposed misery until her next heat, when she'd hopefully latch onto some other shallow attraction to a comrade? How long until she started baring her throat to that- that cocky brat?

"I gotta get over her," she said to the air, a frown tugging at her lips as she decided to turn in for the night. Yang didn't have much confidence in the words; two weeks later and she felt pain in her chest even glancing at the woman or catching her faint scent while walking through the hallway, especially now that the familiar scent had changed.

She'd noticed it after dinner, that strange addition that said the same thing but smelled different for everyone- the clear indication that the person in question wasn't available. For someone with a mating mark, it would be supplemented with the scent of their mate, a clear warning to any who might get too close without good reason that they wouldn't be welcomed. However, sometimes people just... developed the marker without a scent to accompany it, either through choice or by losing the bond that accompanied their mating mark. The Omega had expected it shortly after her heat ended; her unrequited mark probably upset Winter's body chemistry and, until it healed, the warning to others that she'd been marked would remain. Now that it had presumably disappeared, though, the fact the marker lingered worried Yang.

Just how badly had her recklessness hurt the Alpha? Or was this just the natural progression of the woman ensuring it wouldn't happen again, consciously swearing off even the chance to appear as a mate so they wouldn't run into another issue in the future? Considering their ragtag group consisted of mostly Omegas, Betas, and mated or otherwise unavailable Alphas, it would greatly reduce their chances of triggering another heat. It would be the pragmatic decision... which was probably why Winter made it.

Yang went through her nightly routine by rote, hardly noticing the flash of sensation as she detached her arm and set it on the dresser next to her bunk before settling down for the night. Faintly, it annoyed her that Stryker didn't seem like the sort to remove herself from the equation for the good of the group, but she pushed the thoughts from her mind. If she focused hard enough- if she truly began to believe her own words- then her scent would change, too.

Maybe then, she could move on and leave those shattered hopes behind.

They stood in the cargo bay, wearing the uniforms fished out from the bowels of the ship while Team SNOW demonstrated simple gestures- saluting, marching, standing. It all seemed ridiculous to Yang but she paid attention as best she could, occasionally glancing towards Weiss. The Alpha had accompanied her team but the anxiety showed plainly in her features; she did not like this plan, both because it separated her from her mate and forced her to stay as far away from the action as possible. She might have a comparably weaker constitution than the rest of her teammates, but Weiss would be just as eager to throw herself into harms way to protect them.

For her part, Blake seemed nervous as well. Part of it came from having her ears exposed- not entirely abnormal for Atlesian military forces but not... exactly optimal, either- and a larger part came from sensing her mate's emotions, her attention split between going to comfort the woman and paying attention to the demonstrations. Ruby, at least, seemed entirely invested, though the uniform made her look her age for once. That might prove a problem, though, considering the average age for new military personnel, but Stryker assured them it would be overlooked if they called her ‘baby face’ enough times.

Again, Yang couldn't help but feel like they were leaving far too much up to chance and hoping for the best. It chaffed at her, her nose scrunching up in distaste as the Atlesians demonstrated an about face for the umpteenth time.

"Right, then, now it's your turn." Nigel stepped away from the others, nodding towards their students. "Let's see what you've got."

One by one, they demonstrated the facing movement, until it was the Omega's turn. She did her best but the rigidity of the motion didn't sit well with her, and shifting her weight to one foot while turning around felt awkward with her right side being heavier.

"Try again, Yang." Stryker called out, a crooked smile on her lips. "Unless you want another demonstration?"

"Pass." She grumbled, trying a second time and proving no more successful for it. "Damnit."

"You're trying too hard," the Alpha said, starting to walk towards her. "Do it again. But, slower."

Blake and Ruby exchanged a look while Weiss pushed off from her spot observing, the rest of her team silently debating on whether or not to intervene. She hadn't divulged any information about their late night conversation the night before but they could sense the tension that radiated from the blonde growing the closer Stryker came. A snarl tugged at her lips, brows furrowing as she quite nearly started chewing the woman out, but a crisp order halted her in her tracks.

"Stop." Everyone turned to see Winter striding into the room, a duffel bag under one arm and a severe look on her features. "You're not going to get anywhere if everyone acts like new recruits."

Stryker opened her mouth to respond but obviously thought better of it, crossing her arms over her chest and ceasing her advance. Instead, Oswald piped up, motioning towards the bag. "So, what's the new plan, Specialist?"

"Give some of you a bit of clout." She dropped the bag on the ground and motioned for Blake and Ren to come closer. "Your cover story is that you're being assigned to the base but your transport came under fire, correct? No one's going to believe that a handful of fresh recruits managed to survive this far north on limited supplies without a superior aiding them." Kneeling down, she pulled out coats of a slightly different style, handing them off to the two she'd called over. "These will make both of you look like Sergeants. You're young but capable. Remember that you're elevated above the others; act like it, and no one will question you. If anyone asks how you survived, go with your gut, seeing as both of you have experience traversing Grimm infested wilds."

"That... does seem more feasible." Oswald admitted quietly, looking away when Stryker glared at him. "What? Walking in with two superiors is going to bail us out a little."

"You'll have a better cover than that." Winter looked over at Ruby and Jaune, grabbing something else from the bag. "You two, here: they're Engineer tabs. Put them on your shoulders. You'll be separated from the rest but most will assume you're a bit eccentric and leave you well enough alone. Just steer clear of anyone else wearing tabs like these and no one else will know the difference."

As the two started affixing the tabs to their shoulders, the Alpha pulled one last coat from the bag that looked much closer to her own. She started at it for a moment before standing. "Yang, this is for you."

"What am I going to be?" The blonde walked over, accepting the jacket and giving it a once over. It looked like it would be a bit tight around her shoulders but, hopefully, she wouldn't be doing much fighting in it.

"A Specialist." The woman clasped her hands behind her back. "Specialists exist outside the normal hierarchy and we're given a wide berth because of that. Between you, Blake, and Ren, no one will think twice about the group surviving and making it to the outpost. Your new cover story is that you're on a mission to drop off recruits and pursue Mantle purists in the area. All questions will most likely be directed at you, since you'll be the ranking member of the group."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Stryker rolled her eyes. "Put the Valen civilian in charge of actual Atlesian soldiers. Nothing can go wrong."

The Omega bit her lip. As much as she wanted to glare at the woman... she did have a valid point.

"Plenty can go wrong," Winter said, taking the criticism in stride. "And when it does, you'll have two Sergeants who don't care about their future careers and a Specialist who can benchpress a two ton truck." She turned her head, favoring her fellow soldiers with a sharp look. "I realize you four have yet to spend a day in the real military, but those aspects alone can get you out of a surprising amount of situations. A few more alterations and you'll have people jumping out of your way." She turned her attention to Oscar, who looked decidedly less mature than the rest of them, especially in the uniform. "I trust you've got your own plan."

"Uh, yeah..." He looked slightly concerned, one hand going to the collapsed cane at his hip. "It sounds risky but... if you can get us in, we'll manage. I'll manage. Whatever."

The young man didn't seem entirely convinced of that but the woman nodded regardless, looking to Nora next. "You'll be the communications officer. It's a fairly simple change; just tuck your lapels in and don't stop talking once someone asks you a question."

"Oh, I can do that!" The redhead smiled, though she tilted her head to the side. "But I can get kinda... carried away, until Ren stops me."

"That's precisely what I'm hoping for." The Alpha nodded. "It will help establish Ren as your superior and I'm sure your imagination can conjure up a suitably dire situation that you lot narrowly escaped. Just make sure that no one corrects her; everything she says will be taken as truth as long as no one objects."

"You really think they're going to buy this?" Yang couldn't help but ask, still holding the Specialist jacket in her hands. Especially given the confusion during Team SNOW's introductions, she didn't think an Omega could pass for a ranking officer in the Atlesian military.

"That comes down to you, really, and I'm confident you can pull it off." Winter favored her with a small smile. "I'll teach you what you need to do. In two hours, you'll be able to fool the majority of the Atlesian military into thinking you are exactly who you say you are."

The blonde struggled with a verbal response, at once wanting to agree, to bank on the Alpha's confidence in her, while also wanting to vehemently disagree, not looking forward to two hours spent with the woman. It would be torture but, at the end of the day, they needed to do this, and she needed every advantage she could get. With a stilted nod, she grunted out something vaguely affirmative and followed Winter out of the cargo bay.

Once they were out in the hallway, she found her voice, though it wasn't nearly her strongest. "We couldn't do this back there with the others?"

"They need to be surprised by your behavior. A Specialist being attached to the transport last minute makes far more sense than one travelling with the group for a long period of time," the woman said, leading them into one of the combat simulators. "If they appear unused to your demeanor, it will help sell the ruse."

"Fine." She sighed, rolling her neck. "So, where do we start?"

"The jacket, put it on." Winter turned around to face her, adopting a rigid posture with her feet shoulder width apart, hands clasped behind her back, and chin tilted up. "You need to associate this uniform with absolute power. We exist outside the chain of command and the moments we're subject to it are few and far between. Your mission supersedes that of others and the Atlesian military at large, no matter what it is. But you must carry yourself as if you're constantly aware of this. You're focused on your mission, you're mindful of your importance, and no one save for General Ironwood himself can dissuade your from your chosen path."

"I thought Specialists were just Hunters that decided to join the military." The fabric felt just as heavy as the other jacket but seemed to move a little better for some reason, but it still fit her tight across the shoulders. Styled more like Winter's, the first button sat below her diaphragm, effectively framing her chest much like her old jacket did, so she at least had that little bit of familiarity going for her. The long sleeves were a bit annoying though, and she could feel the cuffs pulling tight over Ember Celica. If she had to activate her weapons for any reason, the jacket would be a near total loss, especially her right arm. Once it sat on her shoulders well enough, she straightened up and cleared her throat. "How's it look?"

"Rather well. It won't draw anyone's attention as not being made for you, at any rate." The woman looked somewhat uncomfortable for a moment before her expression smoothed out. "And... that's not true, about Specialists. It's more accurate to say every soldier is trained to be a Hunter and given the option to fight only Grimm than the other way around, but we're... highly encouraged to stay within the military system."

Yang frowned, her brows drawing together. "That... doesn't sound very ethical. I thought Hunters were supposed to be neutral forces, belonging to no kingdom and standing strong for Humans and Faunus alike?"

"Admittedly, it's not. Ethical, I mean." The Alpha sighed, shaking her head. "I realize it may sound strange, but Atlas has always been concerned with consolidating its strength as much as possible. The Academy is geared to appear like any other to the casual observer but it... decidedly favors the military, and the majority of our tactics training comes from military doctrine. The Atlesian military is the most flexible fighting force in all of Remnant, precisely because we're training to combat both Grimm and... human adversaries."

"And no one knows?" As much as it struck her as strange she had to admit that it made more sense; how Ironwood could spare so many ships and soldiers for the Vytal Festival without raising a ruckus back in Atlas. It probably only constituted a drop in the bucket as far as the Atlesian military was concerned and most didn't even notice the absence. "That Atlas essentially is raising an army under the guise of protecting Remnant."

"I suspect others do know; they just can't prove it definitively." She held Yang's gaze for a long moment. "The first thing we're taught is loyalty. It's framed as loyalty to our team and the conditions under which we learn it are... harsh, but no more unorthodox than catapulting fresh students into a Grimm infested forest with only their weapons and wits to aid them. The lesson is burned deep and, after that, all it takes is one or two to express an interest in remaining within the military or offered placement in the Specialist program before the others follow suit. Our Hunters are usually those who couldn't make it as Specialists but don't work well with others either; they graduate thinking they've made the decision to pursue their own paths, never realizing that they only had the one open to them anyway." Winter pressed her lips into a thin line. "Those of us who can recognize the signs of subtle manipulation remain silent out of loyalty to the system or because we truly believe it does the most good. Sometimes, it's our only path to freedom, even if it is trading one set of chains for another."

Suddenly, it clicked. "That's why Weiss went to Beacon."

"Yes," she replied with a single nod. "She would never have reached her full potential at Atlas Academy. I embraced the system because it provided me with an escape but I never wanted my sister to follow me there." For a moment, genuine affection shone brightly in her eyes as her lips curled into a small smile. "She's so much stronger than I was at her age. A strong will, a strong heart..." Her expression slid back into that cold mask from before. "She would've seen through the guise and washed out, given subpar training and ultimately denied her dream. Or, she would've killed herself slowly by keeping silent and burdened with yet another set of standards she had no desire to meet."

Yang rolled the information around in her head before she spoke. "That's what you mean by Specialists being a big deal. They're the best of the best, good enough for three other people to follow them into the military, so everyone's going to see in me the reason they're out here to begin with, an ideal they're entirely committed to without question?"

"Precisely."

"Alright. I guess I can get that." She shifted slightly. "I don't agree with it, though." Smoothing out the jacket and trying not to wince at how weird having a sleeve around her left wrist but not her right felt, she continued. "So, should I stand like you?"

"No. Stand like you." The Alpha moved, striding around her while speaking. "Specialists are highly trained and individualistic to a fault. We wouldn't fit into the mold of a regular soldier but we're strong enough to survive on our own. If you buy into the lines, rather than wasting our potential, we're utilized in this capacity; given free reign to adhere to what regulations we choose and disregard those that don't appeal to us. It's an enormous responsibility tempered only by our devotion to our mission." Yang remained acutely aware of the woman's motions as she circled the Omega, following her as best she could from the corner of her eyes. "You're extremely driven, dedicated to your ideals, and stubborn; by all rights, you could've become a Specialist yourself had you grown up in Atlas."

"Comforting," she said, rolling her shoulders and settling for crossing her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to her left foot. If needed, she could quickly react, but she felt more relaxed now than standing flatfooted with her arms at her sides. "Basically, act like myself and if anyone looks at me funny, don't care."

"That's one way of putting it." Winter walked in front of her again. "We'll also need to pull your hair up into a bun."

Yang frowned. "Is that absolutely necessary?"

"Unfortunately, yes." The Alpha looked her over. "You still look like Yang Xiao Long, the woman who broke a man's leg on a Remnant wide broadcast. If we don't do something to change your appearance, you'll be recognized just as easily as Weiss or myself."

She immediately broke eye contact, looking down at the space between him. "He attacked first."

"I believe you." Slowly, she looked up, finding no hint of deception in the woman's expression. "It's clear the events surrounding the Vytal Festival were manipulated by Salem. That's in the past and we can't change it; neither can we expect everyone to accept your version of the events immediately. Avoiding someone recognizing you is the best option and, trust me, once you're sufficiently in the Specialist mindset, no one will even think to imagine what you'd look like out of uniform." Her lips quirked up into a slightly smug grin. "The majority of Atlesian forces are rather scared of us Specialists. Once you capitalize on that, you'll be fine."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "So, basically, walk around like I'm the biggest badass in the room, glare at anyone who tries to stop me, and answer every question with 'classified', and I'll be good, right?"

"It's a little more nuanced than that," the woman replied dryly.

"Oh, right. I suppose I should mention my mission once or twice, too, so that almost every answer is 'classified'."

Winter looked at her for a moment. "Wait, are you teasing me?"

The Omega cracked a small smile and shrugged. "Classified."

For a moment, she just blinked, and then a chuckle escaped her lips that made Yang's smile widen just a little. It felt good to see the woman in higher spirits, more relaxed and smiling. It felt like a small lifetime since she'd seen Winter smile and, despite the pain in her chest knowing this would be as close as they ever could be, it still felt good to be the cause of it.

"Well, if you're done making light of the situation, I'm afraid we've gotten to the part where things are a bit more... complicated." What little amusement had crept into her expression vanished by degrees until she had that serious look in her eyes, lips drawing into a small frown. "Specialists are generally alone for long periods of time and don't have the same bond that other military personnel experience in units. For Alphas, this isn't troublesome; we're inclined to acting on our own in defense of those we hold dear. Betas are decently suited to the task as well." She paused, as if searching for the correct phrasing. "As an Omega, this lifestyle would grate on your nerves. You wouldn't have the team structure you're used to, but you would still be protecting people. Omega Specialists are..." Winter sighed, reaching up to pass a hand over her face while sighing. "They can be some of the most terrifying people you'll ever meet. I've met two and if I never cross their paths again, I'll be all too grateful for it."

Yang's brows furrowed as she tried to search her memory. The list of people who intimidated her actually ran pretty short and, excluding Blake's former partner- the spectre of whom still lurked in the back of her mind- very few actually scared her. She certainly couldn't remember an Omega who'd done such; aggressive Alphas and Betas, sure, the ones who came on too strong sending an immediate spike of warning running down her spine, but she always dealt with them swiftly. In those moments, she could see where the people on the receiving end of her rage might be a bit intimidated, seeing as that was kinda the point, but imagining the circumstances that would lead her to feeling like that all the time or push her to a higher level in the first place...

And then it struck her. Those Omegas likely had to spend the majority of their service on suppressants but that wouldn't negate the innate need for companionship. Even Blake, quiet and reserved as she was, wouldn't be able to remain entirely solitary for long. They might enjoy their company different ways- the blonde preferred the loud and boisterous kind while her partner opted for quiet contemplation- but they both needed to be around others. Bereft of anyone, however, would be awful, and the only time she'd consciously avoided others entirely directly resulted from her disastrous heat.

They couldn't fit into the soldier mold because they either couldn't or wouldn't trust others around them, so they retreated from the world. They'd be angry, resentful, caustic to any who dared interact with them.

"I'll need to be mad the whole time," she said, looking up to see the twinge of regret in the woman's face. "No one wants to deal with a ticked off Omega, right?"

Maybe it counted as a low blow because she couldn't keep the accusation out of her tone. Even if it was for the best and what she wanted... the only reason she felt a little bit of resentment towards Winter for not returning to check on her and sending Weiss in her stead came from a misbegotten idea that the Alpha should've seen the thing through. A ridiculous notion, really, but having to hunt her down after the turmoil passed... it hurt knowing that she wasn't worth dealing with that fallout, even if all it would likely amount to would likely be summed up entirely by the words 'bad idea'. It just came back around to the fact that they weren't mates, weren't anything, and it would've been easier on both of them if Yang had just suffered in solitude. Then there wouldn't be this awkward barrier between them caused by the events of those few days.

"Yang." Blue eyes searched hers for a moment and she caved almost immediately, preempting the apology she could sense coming.

"I shouldn't have said it like that. I'm sorry." The Omega waved a hand before running it through her hair. "It's like you said- it's in the past. We both... I made a mistake and you were doing your best. No going back to change it." A shrug. "The best we can do now is move forward. Right?"

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Blake chided her, saying that this didn't constitute 'talking it out' but she ignored it.

Winter watched her, something flashing across her expression- some sort of regret, that much she could tell- before she nodded. "You're right. Mistakes happen; it's best to forget." Her posture straitened, her voice taking on a crisp edge once more. "But if you happen to be holding onto any anger, I'd suggest keeping it a little longer. It'll help you infiltrate the base." The Alpha hesitated, apparently debating something before she spoke. "It will behoove you to practice in full uniform a bit. That includes your hair." She cleared her throat, coughing into one hand. "May I?"

She hesitated. No one had touched her hair aside from her in years. Not even Ruby- her sister understood that she didn't like it, so she never asked. The only exception happened to be their father, and only because Yang didn’t have her other arm. However, the stakes were a bit too high to balk over being a little uncomfortable. "Yeah. Alright."

"Excellent. Go ahead and sit down."

Considering the lack of chairs in the simulator, Yang had no choice but to lower herself to the floor, crossing her legs as best she could in the tight uniform pants. "How do you stand wearing these?"

"It comes with practice," the woman replied, coming up behind her and kneeling down. "I'll do my best to be gentle. Feel free to correct me if I'm not."

The Omega offered a grunt in response, trying to hide how she'd resorted to breathing through her mouth. Honestly, she couldn't tell whether it was a better or worse alternative, reminded for a moment how the woman tasted when she'd marked her. An itch to bite down tickled at the back of her mind, but she'd just be gnashing her teeth, so instead she focused on the long, lithe fingers carefully combing their way through her locks.

She realized her mistake too late, her eyes almost falling closed. True to her word, Winter carefully tamed the blonde's wild mane with nothing but her fingers, muttering something about using a comb to make it more presentable next time. Every time she winced at the tiniest tug, the woman had already stopped and smoothed the affected area out, offering a quiet apology. Yang didn't really get the whole 'mutual grooming' thing, allowing her mate or even a close friend to mess with her hair just seemed like a recipe for disaster.

But this was... nice.

"Your hair is beautiful. How long have you been growing it out?" Winter kept her voice soft, as if doing her absolute best to preserve the tentative peace between them. They hadn't been this close since their spar and not since their coupling before that; perhaps the woman felt as if walking on eggshells around each other was the only option left to them.

Maybe, while en route to their next battlefield, they could work out something different. For now, it seemed like the best option, so she replied in kind. "Since I was a kid. I get it trimmed up every few months or so, usually, but it's been a while, and Ruby's not the best barber."

"You've let her cut your hair before?"

"Once. When we were really young." Her lips curled into a smile. "As a matter of fact, that was right around the time I realized I don't like other people touching my hair."

"Weiss mentioned you're rather particular about it. I thought it odd but now... entirely understandable." The snap of elastic procured from somewhere preceded tension at the back of her head, and she winced at the reminder of those few months when she couldn't put her own hair into a ponytail and had to ask her dad for help. He never complained and said it was 'good father, daughter bonding' but all she could focus on was the sense of helplessness. By the time the strands were being wound up into a bun, the melancholy had passed. "It doesn't get in your way while fighting?"

"Sometimes, but once my semblance kicks in, it just... behaves, I guess." She shifted slightly, contemplating if she should dare continuing the conversation before taking the plunge. They'd have to start acting like normal people around each other eventually; as long as she kept herself firmly reminded of the strictly platonic nature of their interactions, she should be fine. "What about you? Does it... feel weird having your hair down now?"

"Weird is a good word for it. I've worn my hair up for so long, having it any other way felt very strange at first," the Alpha replied, a slight wistfulness in her tone. "But I suppose a prisoner might feel the same with their shackles removed. Having it down... I feel freer, less restricted."

"Well, I think your hair is beautiful, too, up or down," she said, and immediately wanted to slap a hand to her face.

Good job. Exactly the sort of flirting you should be doing around the Alpha who rejected you. Way to not come across as pathetic.

Predictably, the woman took her compliment in stride. "Thank you."

Yang felt a slight tug, wincing and using it as a cover to let out a sigh as relief suffused her being. Somehow, that had slid past without further comment and she felt grateful, because trying to explain herself would've been a nightmare and a half.

The snap of more elastic followed by a small hum brought her out of her head. "I think that's the best I can do without a brush. Tomorrow, I will ensure it's perfect." Winter stood up and walked around to in front of her, straightening out her jacket. "Now, stand up, and when you do, do it as a Specialist. I have absolute faith in you."

That makes one of us.

The blonde took a deep breath, trying to bring out her anger consciously. Pushing it down, that came easily, but turning it on... not so much. She usually reacted to something, but the times before when she'd gotten angry didn't seem strong enough to last- the bar, the tournament, those were too brief, and the idea of Blake being in danger brought back memories of Adam, which sparked anger and fear in equal measure.

Instead, she thought back to a few weeks prior, the self loathing rolling through her in waves. She remembered the moment when she fully prepared to lash out at Winter- the woman who'd supported her as best she could in the circumstances and didn't seem to hold her foolishness against her- and every damn mistake since. As she got to her feet, she remembered Stryker's attitude the night before, her insults against the other Alpha, and how much it hurt that she felt compelled to defend someone she'd insulted herself, turning against her when she'd only offered to help.

When she opened her eyes, they were blazing red and fell on Winter with all the weight of a fully loaded airship. Her right arm snapped into a salute as she spoke. "Specialist Betrugs, delivering new recruits." She paused, lowering her hand and furrowing her brows slightly, enough to convey annoyance. "How's that? Do I look the part?"

The Alpha appeared entirely caught off guard, posture straightening the moment Yang's eyes were on her and chin tilting up a fraction. Something flashed in her eyes, darkening them for a brief moment, before it seemed to be chased away. Finally, she seemed to register the questions directed at her.

"Perfect." Winter blinked, shaking her head slightly and clearing her throat. "You- yes, you look the part. Do that tomorrow and no one will think twice about your story. That was an excellent example."

Releasing a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, the Omega rolled her neck and allowed her anger to dissipate. "I'm not sure if I can keep that up for hours on end."

"You really only need to bring it out in full force when others are around," she said, coughing into her hand and smoothing out her jacket once more. "I'm confident you'll be able to manage. Once you're within the perimeter, most will steer clear of you anyway."

"You have a lot of faith in me," she said, rubbing along the back of her neck. Having nothing but the cool air hitting it felt so strange and it would likely get worse once she was out in the elements tomorrow.

"I do," Winter replied, a small smile on her lips when the Omega looked up. "Xiao could I not?"

Yang blinked. "Did you just make a pun?"

"Well, turnabout is fair play, is it not?" The Alpha's smile widened as the blonde shook her head.

"For the record, you Schnees are really bad at them." She couldn't help the little chuckle that accompanied the words. "So, what's next?"

As the impromptu lesson on Specialist etiquette continued, Winter's smile didn't fade, and she found herself wondering if perhaps getting back to normal between them wasn't as out of reach as she'd previously thought. Besides, if she couldn't have the woman as a mate, she at least had her confidence as a comrade-in-arms and that could be just as good. Not what she wanted, but something all the same.

When the lesson ended and they exited the training room, Yang tried to walk away without saying anything more, but her gut betrayed her, twisting into knots until she spoke. "Hey, Winter?"

"Yes?"

She turned to look at the woman, glad that the tightness at the back of her head had disappeared the moment she'd taken the bun down. Even though she could feel nothing but relief on a physical level, it still made her a little sad to have already lost any sign of the woman's work wrangling her unruly hair into something neat and orderly. "Thanks." The Alpha raised a brow. "All that talk about loyalty... abandoning your post to join us must've been a harder decision for you than we initially thought. I'm just..." She offered a small shrug. "Glad you came with us."

Winter paused for a moment before smiling, her shoulders dropping slightly from their severe line. She'd fallen back into a few old habits during their little session but they seemed to slide away as that twinkle in her eyes from before came back. "Surprisingly, it was the easiest decision I've ever made. As much as I'd come to believe in the Atlesian military, I believe in other people more." She turned, heading towards the cockpit. "No matter what, it's a decision I won't regret."

Yang watched her go with a pang in her heart. One day, the woman would make the ideal mate.

Just... not hers.

#TRR writes #Elderburn #Omega's Strength #Elderburn Omegaverse AU

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emiyaseraph · 7 years

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My Thoughts on Sun Wukong : Why he's starting to annoy me

So what’s my problem with Sun ? Almost Everything even his ship with Blake is problematic in my eyes since he lacks consistency. Which is a shame because Sun was introduced on such a good and funny note. Add on that his voice actor is Micheal Jones whom I love as a person and in general. I feel like his character had a lot of potential but it was sadly wasted.

Sun Wukong—this little monkey boy has been plaguing me ever since volume 1, and it has taken me years to finally comprehend why. If it wasn’t obvious, I don’t have anymore love for him or his team of misfits. Perhaps it may not seem notable at first, but there also appears to be a line that segregates the community when discussing him.

Character and Development

Sun was introduced in chapter 15 of volume 1, and he was admittedly given a fairly minimal amount of screen time compared to the other character that we met in the same episode—Penny Polendina. In fact, Penny gets three times the screen presence than Sun (I know, I timed it). And while this doesn’t prove anything, it gives very little time to process that Sun even existed before having a more interesting character put in front of the audience.

However, chapter 16 is where we get to experience Sun in all his glory. Plus, we are told quite a bit from Blake concerning her background in the White Fang, giving reason to her actions in the previous episode. Keep this in mind, as this event is a very important detail that I’ll bring up later on.

To summarize his presence in the chapter, he comes off as a conceited, ignorant, light–hearted monkey faunus with tendencies for theft. If you think that’s being harsh, I can promise you that I am being generous in his description, giving him the benefit of the doubt like I did when I first watched the episode. Oh, and he has abs. This carries the same importance as Yang’s midriff… Which is none at all.

Moving on to volume 2—after the initial reintroduction of Sun and the premiere of Neptune (whom we will get to later), the pair are brought along on team RWBY’s secret mission. If I could ever find a good way to explain how shoehorned SSSN is, this would be it. I’ll give you a moment to let you remember the events of the next few episodes. Can you see where I might be going with this yet ?

To give a quick rundown without making you look at Wikipedia—Sun goes with Blake and Neptune goes with Yang; Ruby and Weiss are independent of the following events until later on. The purpose of their inclusion is unknown since both Neptune and Sun fail to contribute to the progression of these episodes. If you don’t believe me, then rewatch Chapter 4: ‘Painting the Town…’ for yourself and come back.

Sun says something quite notable in the first few minutes : “I don’t get it. If you believe what you’re doing is right, why hide who you are ?”

Again, I want you to keep this little interaction between Sun and Blake in mind, since it will become very important as we proceed. I promise, all of this will become relevant and culminate in your understanding of my stance on the matter.

Blake and Yang go about their task as they had planned, dragging Sun and Neptune around like dead weight. At most, the two contribute comedy to the episode, and I have no qualms with that act alone. It is the fact that it is ALL that they do. Can you see it yet ?

Even after everything goes down and Roman starts chasing after Blake and company in a prototype Paladin, both Sun and Neptune completely disappear for the rest of the chapter. Team RWBY then fights Roman and loses him after Cinder and Neo’s rescue. Where were the other two skilled huntsmen, you ask ? Eating noodles. Perhaps that was for the best.

I’ll skip to the end of this volume, since the whole school dance is irrelevant. There is no mention of team SSSN until the final episode of the second volume. To which they (again) are the butt of a joke and overshadowed by other characters—team CFVY.

Two down, two to go. I’ll be faster for these, for your sake and mine.

Volume 3 has the entirety of team SSSN, and it makes sure to show them off in the fight against team NDGO. They present Scarlet and Sage’s fighting styles, a swashbuckler and Monster Hunter Greatsword user respectively, and make more jokes. If it wasn’t obvious by this point, Sun and Neptune exist only for comedy. When there are no hijinks to be had, they aren’t accounted for.

Only in the last episode—I’m starting to see a pattern here—does Sun show any sort of character growth. He acts like a mature person, though only saying about three lines before being set aside for the real characters of volume 3 to do their thing.

In volume 4, Sun serves much of the same purpose (at least at the time of writing). Sun helps Blake fight the Sea Dragon, shows more of his ignorance to how the people around him function, acts all cute when he buddies up with Blake, and makes dem jokes. Seriously, I don’t have a problem with a character being funny (like Yang), but when your whole personality revolves around it. Well, I just don’t find you interesting.

And if you wanted to consider his bromance with Neptune as character development, you can include that too, but I would merely consider it a “Beavis and Butthead” situation; they’re both just stupid, regardless of their relationship.

Thus sums up the development and character of Sun… NEXT!

A Catalyst

So far, I’ve had you remember certain interactions between Blake and Sun. Well, this is where I use all of those things together. But, fear not, there is still another section after this one. Sorry, I know you wanted it to be over.

Throughout every volume and most episodes, Sun has been paired up with Blake. This has been a good thing… for Blake. See, back in volume 1 Sun was there to help Blake’s feeling of being alone when she thought that she couldn’t trust her team. In volume 2, there was the dance (which was irrelevant). In volume 3… well, not much. However, volume 4 is where the crux lies.

Blake left to do her own thing in volume four, abandoning her team and life at Beacon. Now, we can speculate the reasons all we want, but the fact is that she didn’t do it to track down Adam. Blake is a very mysterious person, and she often has a very self-destructive pattern in her actions. If you remember in volume two, she overworked herself to the point of exhaustion. This is where Sun comes into play.

In the series so far, we can conclude with evidence that Yang and Blake are extremely close friends, more so than any other combination of team RWBY. Whether you want to take that and run with it or dismiss it in favor of the monkey boy crush is irrelevant. Yang has kept Blake in check but is no longer with her in this volume. Sun is required.

The problem with the setup is this—Blake can play off of Sun, but Sun cannot play off of Blake. If you want my reasoning, recall the things that I asked you to remember. Blake’s character grew and matured through Sun and his attributes, but Sun has not changed at all. This is what we call a “static character”. But—in this case—he is simply a catalyst for Blake.

Team SSSN

I’ve spent the better part of the month trying to find people’s opinions on team SSSN, whether that be through places like Reddit, Tumblr, or even going so far as to seek out fanfics with Sun as a character so that I could ask the author some questions. I’m not entirely happy about that, but I was desperate for information. Surprisingly, it wasn’t often that I got a straight answer.

See, in this respect, team SSSN is an anomaly. Their presence throughout the series has been constant, making several appearances in multiple episodes across every volume; however, their presence in the community is comparable to team ABRN. Yes we talk about them, but we don’t have a lot to say… Here’s a quote : ”No human ever has become interesting by not failing. The more you fail and recover and improve, the better you are as a person. Ever meet someone who’s always had everything work out for them with zero struggle? They usually have the depth of a puddle. Or they don’t exist.“ ~Chris Hardwick

Of course you could say, “Sun is a fictional character and doesn’t exist; therefore, it’s okay.” But at that point, I think you’re missing the purpose what what Chris is trying to get at. Anyway, I doubt that most of you are saying this, so I’ll move on.

I believe that this quote accurately represents what it is that I am trying to prove—team SSSN sucks. It’s a bit more complicated than that, but that is as simple as I can break it down without removing the meaning. Oh, and before we really get into it, you should know that I am NOT telling you that you cannot like these characters. Opinion is opinion, and you are reading mine; if you disagree, please let me know.

Depth of Puddle

This section will pertain to team SSSN as a whole. While the quote I gave you only somewhat applies to Scarlet and Sage, they both must be looked at since they’re a part of the team.

Can you tell me a time where Sun was told “no“ ? Perhaps you bring up when he was denied the dance with Blake. However, he was able to go with her anyway. What about the times when he broke the law ? He never faced any repercussions. Has Sun ever been beaten in combat ? Not even once.

Sun is a living representation of a joke character with the attributes of a Mary Sue being forced into a role where he must not be any of those things. His character is so underdeveloped and flat that—at the current moment—having him with Blake actively works against him.

Look, I want Sun to be a better character for the sake of the show. I want him to be interesting and great, but I believe giving Sun the role that he now possesses without him ever showing any form of dynamism is a horrible mistake. And you can make the argument that he will grow as a character later on in the volume, but I have had three years to watch him make no progress.

His character is being given the role of an ocean while Sun only has the depth of a puddle. Speaking of water, Neptune is a person that exists !

Because of his nature, I don’t have as much to say about him as I do with Sun. He’s an egocentric but has redeeming qualities that tend to outweigh his faults (unlike Sun). He’s a flat character used for jokes, yet his quirks make him at least a little bit likable. And the fact that they haven’t used him in volume four (please let it stay that way) is a good thing.

Scarlet and Sage are much the same, though they’re less used for comedy. Still, they’re flat and uninteresting, but that is through no fault of their own. They played their part and didn’t come back, and that makes them neutral in my book.

My problem with BlackSun as a ship

So, like I said earlier Sun as a character only exist to further Blake’s character but only does so in volume 1 and 4. This is bad character writing Sun is either comedic relief or a catalyst for Blake’s character development and sometimes even fails as both of those. I was hoping they would explore him more in volume 4, but they didn’t which is saddening. Volume 1, he serves as a Faunus that Blake can open up to only to be forgotten in ch16 because Blake should be opening up to her friends not a random guy. Volume 2 Sun is useless and serves as a punching bag of disinterest that Blake continuously uses. She goes with Sun to the dance because I guess Sun asked so why not that’s my best explanation cause Blake sure didn’t show any interest in him beforehand. Mind you Yang also had to convince her not Sun. Don’t worry though that’s not the only time Yang does something that Sun the person who is in love with Blake could and should be doing.

Sun’s Disinterest

Does Sun even know who Adam is ? Why doesn’t Sun the person who loves Blake go out looking for her ? Why wasn’t it Sun who saw Adam instead of Yang ? Sun was pretty useless in the mech fight. Hell the students that were there were already enough to handle it especially after Weiss summoned. Soooo ? Sun ? You’re love interest ? They legit shoved Bumblebee in our faces by showing that Yang cares about Blake way more than Sun does considering he never even asked about her. Remember that wonderful scene that Bumblebee defenders always bring up where Blake grabs Yangs hand and cries and says “I’m sorry” ? Did you guys know that Sun was pretty much right behind them when this was happening ? Cause he was. Don’t comfort you’re love interest who just got stabbed and is now laying on the floor crying next to her unconscious teammate. This could have been a Bumblebee AND Blacksun moment but Sun literally didn’t do anything. She’s on the floor CRYING !!! Ruby and Weiss couldn’t do it cause they had to go save Pyrrha and Jaune. Ren and Nora were injured. So Sun why can’t you comfort her ?

God forbid you comfort her

It infuriates me that he didn’t do anything especially since he’s shown to not care about personal space considering all he does is stalk Blake but when a Grimm out break happens you don’t stop and wonder “Hey where’s that girl that I constantly stalk ?” It makes Blacksun look like such a stupid ship when the guy who’s supposed to love Blake fails to love Blake and what makes it worst is that’s his only job in the series so he’s failing as a character by not stalking Blake. Note that he also has a scroll so he could have just called Blake. By the way Yang remembered to call Blake and yes, she did call Blake cause Blake takes her scroll out of her pocket and talks to Yang immediately. Again Yang does things that Sun the person who loves Blake should be doing. This is why there are some many Bumblebee shippers cause Sun failed to stalk Blake at the most important time.

Sun is Easily Replaceable

This is gonna come across as me supporting Bumblebee but this really can be applied to a lot of ships with Blake that involve her with a human girl It’s just that Bumblebee has the most things backing it up than say Ladybug. So let’s look at the positives of Bumblebee and assume it happens. What do we get out of it ? Well at the current state of the show we can expect BOTH characters to develop from it. Mainly Blake but Yang too which is a department that Sun fails at he develops Blake but can’t develop himself. It can tackle interracial and homosexuality at the same time which could make for some really nice plots if done correctly. Sun has so far been such a useless character in this series that It’s like why even have him. Or if we are gonna have him WHY CANT HE BE GOOD AT LOVING SOMEONE ?

Yang and Blake together can bring way more than Blacksun because of how they have handled Blacksun so far which is horribly. It feels forced on Blacksun’s part because of how much Blake goes from hating Sun and slapping him to downright showing affection for him. Don’t get me wrong I actually really liked the talk between Sun and Blake in volume 4 it was really well done. BUT you wanna know who else could have delivered that speech just as good ? The girl who lost an arm for Blake. Or Blake’s father who was about to give Blake some valuable advice about friendship before Sun stalked his way into the conversation. Also I feel like Blake’s overall attitude would have been better without Sun which is something that I see a lot of people complaining about. Yang never angers Blake and they get along well consistently throughout the series until Blake leaves her, in fear of Yang getting hurt. Even then It’s less jarring than Blake hating Sun because Sun is invading her personal space almost all the time.

This is so accurate that it’s sad

In The End

Sun is funny and charming….in the first and second volume. Afterwards he becomes infuriating which is sad cause he had potential. They try to make Blacksun look like a possibility but fail by not having Sun care for Blake in crucial moments. He has been shown to infuriate Blake more than he has had her show affection. Then when his job which is to further Blake’s plot fails he’s just left there looking like useless. So many people turned on Sun this volume because of this. HE FAILED to further Blake as a character she would have been better off without him in volume 4 because he did nothing but take the conversation that she could have had with her dad and then the other thing he did was just flat out anger her throughout the volume. I’m not gonna say Sun is what was wrong with Blake’s arc in V4 cause he wasn’t but he was one of the factors that made it bad. Blake’s arc in V4 was BAD with little things that made it good and I feel comfortable in saying that it was the worst arc in volume 4 without a doubt in my mind. Sun tacked on to the already existing problems.

Sun almost ruining the family portrait

After reading this, I hope you can understand why there may be somewhat of a divide in the community when on the topic of team SSSN. Half of the team is lifeless and flat, while the other two are often used for comedy yet also forced to be characters that they aren’t. Sun is—from my experience and questioning—more of a problem than Neptune in many regards.

Sun and Neptune felt shoehorned into most things that happened at Beacon. Their presence contributed more than a laugh or two, but their characters never grew out of the “we’re just comedy relief” phase. It’s a problem that seems to be mirrored by the many people that I’ve talked to in the fandom.

The truth is the BB shippers who hate Sun for things like these are so vocal about it everyone thinks we’re all like this, but in reality, most of us are not. Personnally, I am a Bumblebee shipper and I personally like him… well I used to like him but he’s starting to annoy me. My main problem with him is the same anyone (shipper or not) has, and it’s been adressed by other users here: his lack of development or even character. I’ve never hated him, I just want him to become himself, and not some faunus-love-interest who serves as nothing else as that and comic relief.

I’ve hope he may get at least some development (and maybe mature a bit?) in this new volume, because if that’s not the case, it will only make many of us dislike him. Which I don’t want because again, when he’s himself and is around Neptune, for example, I like him.

The poor guy basically suffers from being a comic relief who can be very nice but whose biggest trait is… having great abs. And wanting to smooch with one of the Main Characters. And you need more than that to be actually liked. I only don’t like Sun X Blake because to me, it is incredibly boring. The 2 main Faunus that we have seen and they end up getting together seems incredibly cliché to me and not that cool, really.

If you’re reading this—and you haven’t just skipped to the end—then I sincerely thank you for going through all of it. I want to know what YOU think in the comments, and if all you have to say is “I agree/disagree with you” then that is already more than I could ever want. The whole point of writing these is to start discussion in the community. And if there isn’t any discussion, then I have no reason to keep making more.

Again, I hope you’ve enjoyed ! Thanks for reading !

#rwby #sun wukong #bumbleby #bumblebee #rwby characters #team sssn

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ndgo-nebula-violette · 4 years

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I’m here to guide you weary souls that tried looking into the RWBY fandom and found nothing but salty fans. I’m here to give a light spoilers guide to the anime RWBY. (less spoilers then wondering off to the wiki would do) So you can know what it is about, from a person who absolutely loves the show.

Quick note: The series calls it’s Seasons “Volumes” and it’s Episodes “Chapters”

1. RWBY is an American made Fantasy Anime. Made in 2013. You even get to this fact without finding some salty person going wElL hOw CaN iT bE aNiMe If ItS aMeRiCaN? Well let me tell you how.

RWBY is created by a lovely person named Monty Oum. Who unfortunately died in 2015 between making Volume 2 and 3. But He wanted to make sure the animation style was in line with that of Anime. As an Asian American man I trust his judgement well enough. (Please don’t diminish his death. He was hard working enough that he planned years of the show with the other writers-- so they still have a guide that follows in his name)

And if that’s not enough for you. In 2014 Japan got the rights to Dub RWBY in Japanese and in 2015 that Dub was released. And in fact, similar to most anime’s, but in Japan it became quite a popular anime. (And it had some quite famous Japanese Voice Actors)

On top of that a manga was made and released November 2015. (Note: I’m not sure how canon these are.) Manga volume one link [x]

And then on top of this. I’d like to add. Jack Pattillo’s words. Cause I think it’s great. But there was an Off Topic. If anyone can let me know which one that would be great. But I clearly remember the group talking about anime and him asking the group if “they go to high school. If they go to school then it’s an anime.” Or something along those lines. And the characters in RWBY do in fact go to high school.

2. RWBY is a show about girls fighting monsters.

At least that’s what the premise is. RWBY follows a team of girls who are training to become hunters and huntresses. Those of which fight the monsters of the world called Grimm. Yes, Grimm. As in the Brother’s Grimm. As in Fairy Tales. Because the anime and characters all have Fairy Tale themes to them.

Overall that’s what it comes down to. It's girls fighting monsters. (light spoilers ahead) and then there’s the whole subplot that leads up to where we are currently in hiatus as we wait for Volume 8 to come out. But we find out that the ultimate goal is to destroy the creator/master of Grimm.

But if you want to know even more about the lore and backstory of the show you can always watch World of Remnant. Youtube. [x] It explains a bit more on the Grimm and explains the Maidens a bit more. But for a simple explanation Maidens are similar to the Avatar (Avatar the Last Airbender) in which they control the weather and are more powerful. Except there’s 4 of them instead of just one and they are based on the seasons. They could also be used to fight the Grimm.

But if you really really want to avoid spoilers this is all you really need to know. It’s a simple concept, but there’s a lot of depth to it. Thus this post continuing.

3. RWBY is an acronym.

Okay so the show mainly follows the main character Ruby Rose. And her (volume 1 spoilers) team RWBY. RWBY (pronounced Ruby) is an acronym for the names of the characters in Ruby’s team. Which stand for --

Ruby Rose. [ Voiced by Lindsay Jones -- Dubbed by Saori Hayami ] Weiss Schnee. [ Voiced by Kara Eberle -- Dubbed by Yōko Hikasa ] Blake Belladonna. [ Voiced by Arryn Zech -- Dubbed by Yū Shimamura ] Yang Xiao Long. [ Voiced by Barbara Dunkleman -- Dubbed by Ami Koshimizu ]

If you want to know more of the voice actors, English and Japanese alike. This is the one time I’ll say the RWBY wiki is safe enough spoiler-wise. [x] It’s fun cause we get a mix of Rooster Teeth staff and notable Voice actors. (like Elizabeth Maxwell)

RWBY is also a pun on their names. Cause majority of the characters and team names are based on Colours. So Red/White/Black/Yellow as what matches their Colour Aesthetics.

These 4 are the main characters. They are what is important in the show. They get the most screen time cause they are who the show is following.

But of course there are other side characters and teams that we all love and adore. The noted ones are team JNPR, team CVFY and team SSSN. They follow the same rules as the original team. In which the letters represent the names of the characters in the team. Often the first letter of the team name usually matches up with the name for the team leader.

Luckily if you end up a fan of team JNPR (pronounced Juniper) you’re in luck. They become part of the main supporting cast.

If you happen to be fans of team CVFY (pronounced coffee) or team SSSN (pronounced Sun) you’re in luck. As of 2019 we have canon books. Written by E.C. Myers that follow these teams and talk about their back story and such. If you want to avoid spoilers I recommend not picking them up til after you see Volume 3. But it’s not required. If the animation is something you don’t like, but you’re still interested in the concept I highly recommend these.

Amazon Link book one [x] // Amazon link book two [x]

If you happen to be fans of team NDGO (my url sake) or team BRNZ well too bad you get nothing. Love the characters while they have screen time. (light spoilers) And it seemed we got slightly lucky with team FNKI they got more screen time, and here’s hoping for more.

Fun note: The writers are cheeky and even called the crew that works on the show CRWBY which they also have a show on the behind the scenes if you’re interested in that [x] (you do have to be a first member for this one tho)

4. The weapons are important. They also have “powers” This is just what makes the show cool.

Quick run down. Hunters/Huntresses are what they call those who fight Grimm. They all have their own weapons, which seems to work with their fighting style and Semblance.

Semblance is what they call their superpower in this show. Everyone has one. Some are not as remarkable as others. It’s very very similar to Quirks in the anime My Hero Academia. It’s kind of a one time use per battle type thing. But it tends to match the personality of the characters.

Aura is what they call their life force. But works more like MP opposed to HP in video game terms. It’s more of an internal personal power source, and running out makes you very weak. Aura is your shield. It’s what protects you from dying. You can heal with aura or you can use your semblance with your Aura.

Their weapons use an artificial power source called Dust. You can use your Aura to amplify it. Dust is just gems you use to power things. Most of them are elemental based. Fire, Ice, Lightning, Gravity, Hard Light, Plant, Earth, Steam, Water, Wind.

There might be more, but that’s what we’ve for sure have seen used. Add the Dust to your weapon, and use the Dust as needed. Majority of that time is bullets. Because a lot of their weapons have gun elements to them. For the weapons transform. Most of the weapons are a 2-in-1 type special. But some are more than 2. Depending on the fighter and their needs. Every weapon is highly personalized.

The weapon’s of team RWBY is as follows: Ruby has her weapon called Crescent Rose, a sniper rifle that transforms into a large scythe. That scythe is used a lot in promotional things involving the show RWBY. Ruby simply uses bullets, which she often uses for propulsion around her environment.

Weiss’ weapon Myrtenaster is a Rapier which transforms into Revolver. Which honestly, i don’t often see it out of the Rapier form so I almost forgot about this fact.

Blake’s weapon Gambol Shroud is a Katana, Cleaver, Pistol and Kusarigama. This one is particularly useful. For the most part this weapon is often transforming to her needs. She’s very much a fast moving, thinking on her toes type fighter.

Yang’s weapon Ember Celica is a Gauntlet shotgun. It’s literally guns she wears on her wrists. Like Ruby she also takes advantage of the gun for propulsion.

It’s really neat that they have names for all their weapons actually. That tells you how important the weapons are in the show.

A lot of the weapons are fun tho. And some are harder to tell what they are until you see them in action. The most notable is that of one Velvet Scarlatina. Her weapon Anesidora was a fan favourite due to its secrecy. For you only see it as a box introduced in Volume 2. Which had all the fans guessing what would be in the box. Including myself [x] which got noticed by the voice actor Caiti Ward herself. But ultimately the reveal in the end of Volume 3 was well worth the wait and was quite satisfying. (this i refuse to spoil)

5. A bit of plot, but I got to mention the Fantasy Racism™

So there’s a fantasy race called Faunus. Which are humans with animal traits. It could be any animal trait, belonging to any animal. But only one trait. The most common seems to be ears or a tail. On top of that, the majority of Faunus get the ability to have night vision. (volume one spoilers) The most notable is that of Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukung (leader of team SSSN, Voiced by Micheal Jones --Tomoaki Maeno)

Blake having Cat ears and Sun having a monkey tail. Whenever the story focuses on the Fantasy Racism™ It focuses on these two the most.

It is a large subplot of Faunus' rebellion and such. It’s really interesting how they handle this.

On a more touchy topic. There is also the matter of LGBT characters. Now in the canon we have at least two canon Lesbians and one canon Trans character. This is one of the things the fandom gets the most salty about. The writers are trying their best. They even claimed they handled the setup badly and so things are slowed down a bit when it comes to representation. They have done a decent job since. They have hired a new writer since.

6. It’s a well thought out show.

Look I can babble about this show forever. But overall I don’t want to spoil too much of it. I might still make a second post that’s a bit more plot heavy. Of the show up through Volume 7. A here’s what you missed on type thing. But to keep this post mostly spoiler free I’m going to wrap it up.

RWBY also has its own guide book [x] which if you really want to know more about the semblances and weapons and characters and such it’s very useful.

They also have their own DC comic books. [x] Which i think is really really cool. but i’m lame and haven’t been to the comic book store in a long time and i don’t feel like paying for shipping.

So as I said earlier, the animation style isn’t for everyone. Especially within Volumes 1-3. So the comics and books and manga are a great way to get into the series.

They also have a brand new show. A DND campaign based on the show’s setting. If you like the concept of the show but want it in an DND setting. RWBY the Grimm Campaign. It’s really fun. (and you get new teams to love like team SMMK) RT site [x] (this one you can watch the first episode for free and after that you gotta pay to be a first member)

The music is really epic and composed by Jeff Williams. Most of which are songs song by his daughter Casey Williams. The songs have been known to drop some foreshadowing for the show. This person [x] is nice enough to have a playlist on youtube. And there was a nice surprise last Volume, the lovely Caleb Hyles sang one of the songs. Here [x]

They also have a show called RWBY Chibi which is non-canon silliness. Drawn in more of a cartoon style. Which is basically an OVA. Which is 64 episodes which are all less than 5 mins. RT site [x] or youtube playlist [x]

And since it’s become such a big show, with lots of support we’ve been blessed with things like a mobile crystal game [ RWBY Crystal Quest ] and even a video game [ RWBY: Grimm Eclipse ] and a board game [ RWBY: Combat Ready ].

The board game is actually lots of fun. I’ve played it with friends.

But yes. Please. Give RWBY a chance if you haven’t. It’s fun and great. No matter how salty the fans get.

#rwby #long post #i mostly made this for a friend #rwby guide #i'll prob make the other post later #this one took me several hours as is

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sachiel21 · 7 years

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A Sneak Preview of my Next Story...

Ok this flashback scene was inspired by the song BMBLB, those two in a garden, how could I not? I know the song has become kind of controversial as of late but it’s still pretty catchy and it inspired some pretty cool art, so nothing wrong with that.

“You should have been more careful,” Blake said with a slight scolding tone as she rubbed the bruise on Yang’s forearm with her thumb. “Hey, I’m fine,” Yang said, gently clasping her hand. “I can’t believe Weiss took down Flynt like that.” They sat there quietly, holding hands in the garden of a secluded courtyard that they had found by accident through their late night roamings of the school. “Why are you so tense? Sun not performing up to snuff?” “W-what?” Blake sputtered. “He’s not my boyfriend, Yang.” “Do you want him to be?” Yang asked, watching her carefully. Blake knew the monkey faunus liked her. It was obvious from the way he smiled and looked at her. He was handsome, reliable and friendly but honestly she didn’t feel the same way. “No… Why would you ask that?” “Because…” Yang was looking down, her eyes hidden by her thick golden bangs. She shook her head. “No reason…” Blake was about to question her more but Yang sat up suddenly, laughing. “Did I tell you about the time I stole the principal’s car?” “Yang, be serious… What about you?” “Hm?” “Is there anyone you like?” “I guess there is this one… But it’s a secret.” Blake felt a strange conflicted feeling at the thought of Yang having a secret crush on someone, not quite sad but not happy either. She respected Yang’s privacy. “Well, they would be lucky to have you, whoever it is…” Blake said wistfully. “Aw thanks Blakey, you’re the best!” Yang went in for a kiss on the cheek but Blake had inadvertently turned her head at the last moment and their lips brushed. They stared at each other wide-eyed for a moment. Yang chuckled nervously. “Sorry about that Blake. Wrong angle.” Blake couldn’t speak. She watched as the tip of Yang’s tongue slipped out, unconsciously tasting the area where their lips had just met and was overcome with a blinding urge to lean forward and press her mouth to hers. These thoughts were dangerous, Blake thought. The air changed, like it was charged with static electricity. Yang, as if sensing this, started to lean forward, tilting her head imperceptibly with the slightest of angles. In the back of her mind, there was a voice saying that this was wrong, that they were partners, both girls, interracial human-faunus but at that moment she couldn’t bring herself to care. Just as their lips were going to meet again Yang’s name was called on the intercom to register for her next fight. They pulled back to normal but painful conversational distance. “Blake I…” Yang started. Blake smiled shyly at her. “We should go. You don’t want to be late for your fight.” Yang looked crestfallen. “But shouldn’t we talk about…” Yang felt like there were so many things that needed to be said. “We’ll talk after your match.”

#bumbleby #bumblebee #rwby #celebrating 1700 followers!#wow I still can't believe it...#my writing

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sugarsculls · 7 years

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why do you think sun and adam should fight? shouldn't blake and yang be the ones to fight him?

Ok I’m actually writing a long post about this because I genuinely do not understand why me saying “I want Sun to fight Adam” all of a sudden translates into “This means I want Sun to win the fight and Blake and Yang do not fight him at all.”

I want Sun to fight Adam, but I don’t think he would win, especially by himself. Realistically I think Sun could stand his ground for a while and serve as a great distraction while Yang and Blake get the better hits, but Blake and Yang are not going to defeat Adam on their own. I don’t care how strong and skilled they have gotten, the enemy grew powerful as well. And the set up for Sun vs Adam is too obvious and too good of one to pass up.

Blake vs Adam is a given. We know it’s gonna happen and we know it should happen and we know Blake is going to win. Yang vs Adam is gonna happen. Girl needs to get revenge on this guy for what he did to her, to Blake, to everyone at Beacon. Those are givens. Those are obvious.

Sun vs Adam does not defeat any of those purposes. It adds character development for Sun outside of Blake. It adds symbolism and depth to the series. It can honestly be a starting point to help fix what they fucked up with the White Fang in the first place.

I’ve talked about this a lot but there’s no secret that Sun and Adam are paralleling each other in opposite ways.

Sun and Adam are similar in concept; both are faunus, both are male, both are powerful, both are Blake’s love interests. But…that’s where the similarities end. And yet…they still end up paralleling each other.

Adam represents a very dark thing for Blake. Her fear, her sorrow, her guilt and regret, the shadows inside of her that hold her back. The blood she’s spilled. The blood she’s let Adam spill. He’s a huge factor for why Blake hates herself and constantly condemns herself. He’s unhealthy. He’s toxic. He abused her. He put himself and his ambitions above her, above his own sanity and morals. The Adam Blake once knew is gone. I know we wanna call him the beast but honestly? I think he’s more Gaston than anything lmfao. “My darling” like come on. That’s totally a Gaston line. But, allusions aside. Look at this.

A pretty bland and boring color scheme. Except the color scheme is…literally the same color of the White Fang’s current flag. The WF that crwby wanted to paint as terrorists. The WF that resorted to violence and crimes.

And then pan to the next shot. Look at Blake’s face.

We know what that flag stands for. We know what she’s thinking of when she’s looking at that flag. We know who she is thinking of. She is thinking of Adam. She’s thinking of who she was. What she’s done. What he’s done. She’s pissed. She’s angry and scared and tired.

Adam holds Blake back. And it’s no secret. He abused her. He was someone she loved. He probably genuinely loved her too. But we know how that turned out. But that Adam is gone. She’s known it for a while. That doesn’t mean it won’t haunt her.

He haunts her. He’s a venom, a poison that still runs through her veins. He represents what the White Fang is.

Sun is the complete opposite.

Sun is a faunus who didn’t really understand why the White Fang did what they did. He doesn’t get it. And coming from Vacuo, where people are treated the same so long as they can survive, it’s no wonder. The discrimination of faunus probably doesn’t exist in the same way in Vacuo as it does in Atlas, Vale, and Mistral. If it does, it’s not in the same violent, hateful method as it was in other parts of the world. Sun legitimately did not understand why the White Fang did what they did. Sun didn’t know his people’s history. He was never taught this. And if my theory about Sun being orphaned at a young age and having to raise a group of orphans by himself until an interracial human-faunus couple took them in is true or at least somewhat true then it makes sense.

He comes from a place where who the person is and what the person can do means more than what the person is and what the person has done.

Sun genuinely cares. He’s also quick to pick up on things and see past disguises (which is why I’m a little sad crwby didn’t use him being able to see past bullshit when Yang was accused of breaking Mercury’s leg unjustifiably). He instantly recognized that Blake was a faunus. That’s why he winked at her. Like “hey, I’m just like you.”

Sun represents Blake’s love and hope for the future, a guiding light leading out of the shadows. He’s light. He’s the morning to her night, the light to her shadows, the sun to her moon. He’s an opposite of Blake, yeah, but unlike Adam, he compliments Blake and brings out the good in her. The best of her. The most of everything. Every relationship and person has their flaws and that was exemplified in volume four, but that did not make their relationship abusive or unhealthy like how people tried to claim. (like…come on try harder lmfao tauradon’t is literally RIGHT there and you choose…to demonize….blacksun…ok bye).

Sun brings out a lot of emotion from Blake. Hate me all you want, but Blake wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for Sun. Now I’m not touching how Yang impacted her because she impacted Blake just as much as anyone else, but think about it.

When Blake accidentally revealed that she was a part of the White Fang her first reaction was to run away. And who found her? Sun. Not her teammates. Not the Fang. Sun. It was by chance obviously, but he knew from the second he laid eyes on her that she was a faunus. He could easily see past that facade. If he hadn’t found her, we know Blake would have run away again. No ifs, ands, or buts, she’s a master at running away, and Sun’s a master at finding her when she’s in a low point.

He was the first person she opened up to. He was the first person she told about her past. Why? He’s a faunus.

People honestly have such a skewed perception of Sun and Blake as a couple because they’re of the same race. That shit ain’t racist they’re not being pushed together because they’re both faunus. They’ve grown closer and have a deeper bond than most people want to acknowledge because they’re both faunus. It’s no secret people feel more comfortable with people of their same race than their oppressors. Ask me if I’d (Blake) feel more comfortable being the only Mexican (cat faunus) in a group of white people (humans) discussing problems that I face that they couldn’t even begin to empathize with, than in the company of one or two other non-latinx poc (a monkey faunus, a bunny faunus, etc.) I think the answer is obvious lol.

Sun is such an important person to Blake and such an important aspect of her life. This is not me saying all her other friends aren’t important, of course they are, but Sun is the only other faunus friend Blake has. I don’t really consider Velvet a close friend of Blake’s, but I do think they would be friends. Especially since the first and only person Blake approached when CFVY came back from their mission was Velvet, another faunus.

Sun being a faunus is important. Sun brought such a bright light into her life. He’s such a polar opposite than Adam was, but he was someone Blake could see herself getting along with.

Adam puts himself and his ambitions above Blake, but Sun has always acted putting others before him. Everything he’s done has been for Blake. It’s not because “he wants that pussy” like nasties were saying when he found Blake on the boat. It’s because he genuinely cares for her. When has Sun ever put himself above others except for leaving his team behind? Even then, it was for someone else. Sun spent an entire weekend with Blake without even knowing her and she let him. He went up against a criminal syndicate he was viciously against by her side for her. He donned the mask of that organization he despises to help her gather information. Sun asked her to the dance hoping to relieve her of the stress she’s been forcing on herself and have a little fun for once. Be a kid. When she rejected him, he respected that. He took a step back, and left her alone. He didn’t approach her after that. He asked her team how she’s been doing. He was planning to go to the dance regardless (as seen at the end of Burning the Candle). He wasn’t waiting for anyone. He wasn’t expecting Blake to be there. But she found him. They spent the whole night together dancing and laughing! Sun is also the only person to ever make Blake blush and laugh when it’s just the two of them. Sun playfully flirts with Blake, and she reciprocates it. When Blake ran off after the fall of Beacon, you know what happened? Sun saw her run off. Sun saw her run away. Sun saw her do the same damn thing she always did, but you know what? He didn’t blame her. He gave her the benefit of the doubt. He took the time to say goodbye to his team, and tell Yang when she woke up that Blake had left.

When Blake said she wouldn’t run, Adam immediately said “you will.” He knew she would run. He knew she would resort to that.

But Sun…he gave her the benefit of the doubt. He didn’t think she was running away because she was scared and guilty. He thought they were past all of that. He thought she ran off after the Fang! A hilarious misunderstanding on a surface level to children, maybe, but he thought she was going after the people who had hurt her so much and destroyed her school, her new life, killed people, and mutilated her best friend and partner. He didn’t think she was running away from the problem, Sun thought she was running towards the problem. He searched for her and followed her because he was worried about her. He played it off lightheartedly, but he honestly thought she was about to try and take down a criminal organization by herself. I don’t care how strong someone is, you can’t do that alone. Especially someone was haunted as Blake. So he looked for her, found her, followed her, and looked after her. Sun has always put her before himself. When he found out, oh that’s not what she’s doing, he instantly recognized what was going on, and internally was probably like “ah fuck I can’t let her do this again.” So? He decided to stay with her. She needed someone by her side. And Sun provided that comfort and company she needed.

Sun…literally almost died for her. And you know what his response to that was? “I’d do it all again if it meant protecting you.” This boy genuinely cares about her. He really loves her. Whether you want to see it as platonic or romantic, Sun Wukong unconditionally, irrevocably loves Blake Belladonna.

And Blake…doesn’t know what that feels like. She’s afraid of seeing what happened with Adam happen again. She’s afraid of seeing what happened to Yang happen again. And you know damn well she never had the dedication and love that Sun gives her when she was with Adam in the White Fang.

Sun also learned a lot about his heritage this volume. He didn’t know much but he learned from Blake and he listened and was becoming more knowledgeable about how his people were oppressed. He didn’t get it before, but he’s beginning to get it now. He first reaction to finding out about the splinter group attempting a coup is to destroy the Fang, but Blake stands up and says “No, we’re taking it back.” And Sun…he’s gonna stay by her side for this. He’s going to understand why the White Fang needs to be reformed. He’s going to understand why the Fang is needed. But he’s not going to let their violence and hatred go on. He’s going to help Blake change the Fang.

He’s the hope and light that Blake has in the White Fang.

Also, take a look at his color scheme.

White and blue. Not only the opposite colors of Adam’s color scheme, but look familiar?

Yeah. The old White Fang’s flag.

Sun represents the light and hope Blake has for the White Fang. He represents such a bright future for Blake, for the White Fang, for Faunus, for himself.

When Blake is looking at the current Fang’s flag, the camera immediately pans to Blake’s face. She’s angry and pissed but this time she really won’t be running. It’s obvious we know who she was thinking of then. But when Blake is holding the old flag, the flag of hope and light, who do they pan to?

Sun.

And then they immediately pan to Blake. Her face melts into this smile.

That smile says that she’s ready to move on to a new chapter in her life, a chapter with Sun by her side, a chapter where she lets her friends in, where she doesn’t run away, where she vows to take back the Fang and turn it back into the civil rights group is always was.

And Sun was a catalyst for that! Notice at how different Sun and Adam are! Adam represents darkness and despair, Sun represents light and hope.

Their fight would literally symbolize despair vs hope. Regardless if Adam stabs Sun or Sun shoots off his mask, the end result is so symbolic and powerful. I don’t want Sun vs Adam because I want them to fight over Blake no fucking way. I want Sun vs Adam because of all of this. All of what I’ve written. Sun and Adam are polar opposites of each other and the fact that in Journey to the West, the monkey king (Sun) fights a demon bull king (Adam) is not just a coincidence lol. I don’t give crwby credit for much but I’d like to think that they’re not that bad of writers to have taken notice of this and not do anything with it.

And in the original story, Wukong doesn’t defeat the demon bull king by himself. Which is why I think the way this final battle is going to go is Sun and Adam are going to meet up, and they’re going to fight. But that’s not the end of the fight because Blake and Yang are going to join in. Essentially, Sunnybees vs Adam makes the most sense.

I honestly think Sun will fight Adam, Blake will join in, Adam overpowers Blake and an already injured Sun will jump in front of Adam’s sword for her and at that point while the sword is lodged in Sun’s gut Yang would show up, see the image in front of her, charge at Adam crying and instead of being the victim she would punch through Adam’s sword or catch it in her joints and deliver nasty blows to him. Blake holds on to Sun and then Yang comes back and looks after him while Blake goes and delivers the finishing blows on Adam, at which point she will either kill Adam or Adam will have a melt down and a Disney Villain death. Point is, the beast is gonna kill Gaston and then the beast is gonna return to beauty’s limp body. I wouldn’t write Sun off as dead here, I’d honestly just have it allude to when beauty was crying over the beast’s body except the roles are reversed. He’d wake up, he’d get healed, happy ending yada yada yada.

But this is…how I would write it and I’ve learned that crwby and I have very different writing methods lmfao so I would love for this to happen and it would make sense but I can’t say I’d necessarily trust them to do something like this.

Anyway that’s my two cents. Take it how you will idc but this is why I desperately want Sun vs Adam.

#answered #meta #long post /#Anonymous #mobile users i am so so sorry #rwby #sun wukong #blake belladonna #adam taurus

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calliecat93 · 7 years

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RWBY V5, CH8 Review: Alone Together

(Repost Form My Now Defunct Review Blog)

Coincidentally, that’s also the title of a Steven Universe episode, ha! Anyways, welcome to the second half of the volume everyone! Crazy ride so far, huh? Well it’s about to get crazier! So after having a breather last chapter, it’s time to leap back into the thick of things. What awaits us here? Only one way to find out.

Overview

We begin with Ruby outside on the balcony, watching some birds in the sky. One noticeably flies away, leaving the group behind. That’s not at ALL symbolic. She’s soon joined by Yang, and gosh I love seeing these two together again. It’s so cute! Nether one could sleep, but fortunately Weiss is also up and has coffee. And don’t worry, she put in tons of sugar and cream in Ruby’s, so she didn’t forget. The three sit together and reminisce on all that happened before, Weiss even saying that she thought she’d never see the others again. It’s such a nice, calming scene and it’s so good to see the girls together again. Sure we got that last chapter, but we really needed Team RWBY to have some time as a team to themselves, and this moment provided that.

But of course there’s an elephant int he room, or I should say out of the room. Rub mentions wishing that Bake was with them, a sentiment not shared by Yang. Yes my friends, we are at least addressing Blake running away. While Ruby and Weiss son’t seem too upset, Yang… is. She outright says that Blake made her choice and when the girls try to get her to elaborate, she tries to insist she isn’t upset despite her vocal tone betraying that. When Weiss tells her to calm own, Yang goes red-eyed, furious Her hand even trembles again. She walks away in a huff, leaving the other two girls surprised and unsure of what to do. Way to kill the happiness CRWBY.

Speaking of Blake though, we cut to Menagerie. Blake is at her home, clearly unhappy with hoe the recruitment has been going. But she has other worries coming as she discovers a note… from Ilia. Ilia wants to talk to her… and it’s obvious to us that this is a trap to set off the Belladonna assassination plot. Sun comes out to find Blake, the two having planned to go to the Nocturnal District. So there are Nocturnal Grimm too? Cool! But Blake tells him to go on without her, having business to take care of. Yeah, because going alone when a note from someone you know who is on the other side of the conflict is ALWAYS a good idea. More on this later.

Back in Mistral, Yang is looking over a photo of Team RWBY when she heard the door open. She tells Ruby to leave her alone… except it’s not Ruby at the door. It’s Weiss. The former heiress silently enters the room, but it’s clear why she’s there. Yang knows it to, but stands by her stance of not being willing to accept Blake yet for how she abandoned them. She does elaborate this time though, explaining how both Raven and Summer left, Tai had to work, and when all that happened Ruby could barely speak yet. That left Yang to pick herself up and take responsibility at a very young age. She’s been left behind so many times and then Blake, someone she tried to help, went up an left. Weiss, while her family sucks, had family around at least. She was never abandoned like Yang was. Yang has been through a lot, and after the… sour meeting with her mother, it’s clear that she’s tired of it all. She’s tired of being left.

However it is unfair for her to assume that Weiss doesn’t understand what loneliness is like. As I said, her family sucks. Weiss explains how when she was 10, her father missed her birthday party. This enraged her mother who confronted Jaques about it, where the asshole revealed that he only married her for the Schnee family name. This destroyed the marriage. IDK why Weiss’ mom didn’t divorce him after that, could be due to the company IDK. Weiss’ mom kind of knew, and Weiss admits that deep down she also knew. But that was the moment where the family fell apart. First the parents just kept separated at things such as dinner and Weiss’ recitals. There was also a good amount of drinking. But eventually, everything just stopped. No dinners. No recitals. A bottle of wine regularly. Which has left the Schnee family in it’s current state, a father who cares only about company margins and a mother who is never around and has been reduced to a drunk. Is it the same loneliness that Yang has endured? No. Weiss has her own version, but it’s loneliness regardless. She can’t understand what being left was like, but she understands how much being alone hurts, just in a different way. Something that can also be said about their missing teammate.

While Yang apologizes for making assumptions, er anger towards Blake is still going strong. She argues that Blake had them and Ruby around for her and she knew it, but then Weiss asks her something that clearly Yang didn’t think of: why did Blake leave? As Weiss explains, Blake was closed up and distant when she arrived at Beacon. She hid her problems and didn’t let other sin, even when they tried to help. But eventually, the walls began to come down and Blake accepted her team and others. But just as the wall was completely gone, the worst case scenario happened. Yang lost her arm due to her former associates, and it proved Blake’s fears right. So, to keep it from happening again, she left. It doesn’t help as Yang argues that no one would have blamed her for what happened, something that Sun argued to Blake last volume. Yang got Blake to open up before, but then she went up and left after all of that. How can Yang help if Blake refuses to he helped? Or what if Yang needed her around? Needed her help to get through her problems? Blake’s actions have clearly left a toll on Yang and she doesn’t want to go through it again.

Weiss sympathizes with Yang’s conflicted emotions, admitting that she’s not happy about it either. But all that thy can do is be there for her when she does come back. Not if she comes back, when she comes back. Weiss explains how Ruby, Yang, and even Blake are more like family to her than her own brother and father. They changed her and were there for her more than anyone else ever was. She doesn’t want to lose them, instead wanting to be there for them. And while she isn’t as close to Yang, she will also be there for her when she needs it. Ruby finally enters, asking if everything is okay. Yang, noticeably calmer now, says that it is. This entire moment is just… so beautiful. More on that in the review portion though.

Back in Menagerie, Blake arrives at the meeting place where Ilia awaits her. But… yeah, it’s a trap. And no one is surprised. Blake gets knocked down by Yuma and trapped by, to my shock, a spider Faunus. Nice! Blake is stunned as Ilia apologizes, something that Blake calls her out on. But Ilia makes her stance clear, she doesn’t like having to do this, but to her there is no choice. The Belladonna’s are in the way of the White Fang’s final goal. When Blake points out that killing innocent people is… you now, wrong, Ilia says there’s no such thing. Humans either are the ones causing grief to the Faunus or they just stand aside and let it happen. Fear and pain has gotten them results and while Ilia doesn’t like to hurt people, in her mind it is the only solution left. If no human is going to help them, if they are going to allow innocent Faunus to die in a Dust mine, then they all deserve to die.

Blake however points out where Ilia is now, taking the Chameleon Faunus by surprise. It’s true, Ilia has lowered herself into a terrorist. But Ilia refuses to acknowledge this, instead arguing that for the greater good, sacrifices have to be made. It’s here that she tells Blake that not only are the White Fang going to murder her family, but sh herself will be sent to Adam. Blake, understandably, is mortified. She tries to talk Ilia out of it, arguing to her that this isn’t really her. Ilia argues this… before saying that Blake never noticed due to her falling for Adam. Ilia then admits to having been jealous, having wanted the Cat Faunus to look at her that way. Yes everyone, you read right. Ilia Amitolia is RWBY’s first confirmed LGBT character! But if there’s any doubts, her freckles turn pink when she admit this, emulating a blush. Sadly not even this can make Ilia change her mind, her eyes turning red as she says that you can’t always get what you want. Damn…

Ilia and Yuma head for the Belladonna’s, having the other lackeys take Blake to the docks. But as it turns out, Blake was NOT stupid enough to come out at night to an alley alone. She signals for Sun to make his move and the monkey boy strikes, allowing Blake to get free and the two knock out the lackeys. But there’s no time to rest as they rush back to the Belladonna household, Sun calling the cops and Blake trying to call her mom. Unfortunately, the attack is already in progress with Kali shooting at the guards while Ghira is fighting with his bare fists. The guards are all taken out however by none other than the Albane’s, wielding a nice looking pair of daggers. With Ghira on his own, he breaks out his class and throws off his coat, letting out an enraged roar. The panther is ready to pounce ladies and gents.

Review

WOW, that was a lot, huh? So lets begin with Yang. It took a lot of patience, but we’re finally addressing how Blake’s actions have affected the blonde. As expected,s he’s not taking it well. Yang has been abandoned several times in her life. Her mom, her stepmom, and while I wouldn’t say abandoned Tai couldn’t always be around when Yang needed him. His case is more understandable cause work sucks, but it still left Yang to take care of both herself and Ruby from a young age. Then Blake, Yang’s partner who she tried to help and even talked about her issues to to try and help her with her issues, left. At a time where Yang was suffering one of the worst moments of her life. She was made to look like a violent sociopath to the public, her school got attacked, people she knew were killed, and her arm got chopped off when trying to save Blake. Yang went through Hell, and then she got left. Weiss got forced away and Yang told Ruby to do what she wanted, but Blake just ran away without so much as a goodbye. Just like the others in her life.

You can’t blame Yang for being angry. I completely understand why Blake left, but it still left an impact. Yang, and Ruby and Weiss for that matter, tried to reach out to her. They tried to help her feel safe and free to open up to them. It seemed to work at first, but then she just abandons them. Yang out in so much effort and it ended up being a waste. Even if Yang understands the reasons, it doesn’t make the pain go away. Whether you ship them or not (and I don’t), it’s clear that Blake’s actions left a toll on Yang and only adds to the blonde’s abandonment issues. The confrontation with Raven probably did not help matters either. Yang has a hard time dealing with anger, and it shows here. She doesn’t know what to do and can’t find it in her to forgive Blake. In the end, her efforts feel like a waste, and it hurts.

Thankfully though, we also have Weiss. Oh my gosh, thank Remnant for Weiss. First, her being the one to go to Yang to help her come to terms about Blake isn’t what I expected, but it was a PERFECT choice by the writers. It helps show Weiss’ own growth, the former heiress reaching out to her teammates to help them when she sees that they are upset. If this was Volume 1 still, we never would have seen that. She’s made many strides as a character and I love it. Hearing her explain what happened between her parents is just… sad. Not only does it make Jaques look like an even worst asshole, but it further demonstrates how rough Weiss’ life was. As she said, the girls are more like family to her than her own father and brother. Weiss never got abandoned, but her family aside form Winter may have well never been around, and even then Winter eventually did leave to join the military. Weiss had what many would consider the life of luxury, but it came with nothing but loneliness and being controlled. Her pain is different form Yang, but it hurt all the same.

Her feelings concerning Blake are also interesting and different form back int he beginning. Before, the two girls were in conflict over the Faunus. But eventually, they worked out those issues with Weiss becoming more accepting of Faunus and Blake agreeing to be more open. You’d think that Weiss would be angry that Blake went back on all that she promised, but she isn’t. She’s not happy, who would be? But she understands why. She understands what provoked Blake to leave everything behind and that she doesn’t want any of them to be hurt. She believes that Blake will eventually come to terms with it and come back, a sentiment she echoes to Yang while saying that she’ll be there for the blonde as well. It shows how mature and compassionate that Weiss has become and it helps Yang calm down and see reason. For two characters whose interactions were lacking before, this moment was sorely needed and it was done perfectly. IDK if it was Miles or Kerry who wrote this moment, but props regardless.

Now, lets talk about Ilia. Oh God, Ilia. In a short amount of time, she has become on the most complex characters in the series and this episode shows why. Ilia is in the middle of the morality line. On the one hand, you can tell that she doesn’t like what she’s becoming. She doesn’t like to be violent and she does still care about Blake. She knows that she’s going to hurt her and others, and it’s something that she hates. But at the same time, the Chameleon girl feels like there’s no other way out. She wants to do good for her kind, and so far violence and fear have been the only methods that have helped. If it helps the Faunus achieve equality, Ilia will go to any length, even hurting her former crush and killing her family. For the greater good.

It’s sad. It’s hard to see this girl who clearly isn’t a bad person making all of these horrible choices. But you can understand why. Her family died in a horrible, preventable way and her ‘friends’ laughed at it. She had to pretend to be human just to avoid any prejudice. Blake, someone she had feelings for and opened up to, left her and to her, betrayed everything that they were fighting for. The only ones that she could turn to were the ones who trained her and took her in, the White Fang. Ilia isn’t stupid. She knows that the group has gone to horrible lengths to get their way and that it’s wrong. But what else can she do? She has nowhere to go. She has no one who will help her. She wants to do something to help the Faunus, and this is the only option she has. She’s in so deep that even with Blake trying to present another option, she can’t see any other way out. She’s trapped. She can only justify it as fighting for the greater good and that it’ll be worth it when it’s all over. We all know that’s not true. Ilia knows that it’s not true. But she has no way out. This is all that’s left for her, and it’s hard to watch.

Conclusion

This was an emotional chapter for sure. A lot of things that we’ve been wanting to happen have at last happened. The assassination is underway and we finally addressed Yang’s feelings over Blake’s actions. We got to see Weiss progression as a character and have Ilia become all the more complex of a character. It was also nice to have Ilia be an LGBT character. Whether that’ll go anywhere further IDK, but it’s still nice. Overall, this was a very well written chapter that hit a lot of emotional spots and I absolutely loved it. And with Ghira fired up, there’s more insanity to come!

#rwby #rwby reviews

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