#the ultimate cosmic joke of salem’s existence is her protege fixated on magic specifically *because* salem told her to be wary of it

[bestworstcase]

WOR: aura is really funny bc not only does salem do the illustration equivalent of name-dropping the demiurge (MA’AM WHY IS YOUR IMAGE OF THE HUMAN SOUL A BLACKSMITH. MA’AM–) but the whole thing is just a dig at ozpin’s preoccupation with magic.

like

oz: i sacrificed my magic to create the maidens whom i now devote the vast majority of my efforts toward keeping track of so that salem can’t have them. to keep track of the maidens i granted two of my acolytes shapeshifting magic under dubious circumstances. i make it a regular practice to recruit rare special destined magical warriors with silver eyes whenever i can find them. all of this is to protect the magical relics i the gods entrusted into my care. i’m only a man, not even a very good one. 😔

salem: aura is a manifestation of the soul, a life force flowing through every living being on remnant, and with training and focus it can be projected outward as a semblance, infinitely greater and more profound than anything JUST A MAN over there could ever be…

i have to believe she coined the term, because she’s also the one who turned remnant into a defiant point of pride, and can you imagine the miscommunication this caused when they were married. salem says semblance and means “when someone draws upon their own soul to manifest the true essential form of their self into the world” and ozma says semblance and means “the last dying embers of real magic (sad!)” and i don’t think either of them has any idea that they are not. defining the word the same way