#we should tell ironwood

[chaikachi]

rosegarden is sooooooooo canon baby

[rachetmath]

Yang Priorities

Yang: Hey Jaune. 

Jaune: Yes?

Yang: Remember that question me and Winter asked you?

Jaune: Yes. 

Yang: Be honest with me then am I a good sister?

Jaune I mean you are better than me but not better than Winter or Sapphron.

Yang: How so?

Jaune: Yang you have been doing Ruby dirty for a while.

Yang: Not true.

Jaune: Yang on her first day you abandoned her. How do you think we met?

Yang: um.

Jaune: Our initiation, you never once tried to save her. Weiss did that. 

Yang: Okay but that was because she needed to toughen up. Especially if she is going for the big leagues.

Jaune: Okay. First mission.

Yang: Oh come on, I was asleep. I found her and hugged her.

Jaune: Okay. After the fall of Beacon. 

Yang: Okay you can not fault me for that. I was going through it. 

Jaune: You were crying over a girl. At least she was alive. 

Yang: I lost my arm.

Jaune: Protecting Blake who you were crying over. And you got a new one. I stepped up and went with Ruby to Mistral.

Yang: I eventually came back.

Jaune: You did. But not before going after Raven. The deadbeat.

Yang: She was my- 

Jaune: Bitch, you could've just called once you were close to the city.

Yang: It would have taken me hours. 

Jaune: You had a bike.

Yang: Still.

Jaune: Okay then back Blake. You talk shit about how your mom did you dirty. But suddenly when Blake did the same shit and came back you forgave her.

Yang: She's different. She did it to protect us. 

Jaune: That's great. But here's the thing, um, we were in danger anyways. What the fuck do you mean?!

Yang: … … I-

Jaune: And the crazy part is, you prioritize Blake a lot more than your own sister.

Yang: Not-

Jaune: Yang, Beacon you gave her a lecture because she was obsessed with the White Fang. 

Weiss: Then in the house, you got Blake out first before Ruby.

Jaune: Yang you were against telling Ironwood a lie and called Ruby out on it. 

Weiss: Not once but twice.

Yang: Weiss!

Weiss: You're right. He is going to do the same thing to me. But still.

Jaune: But all of a sudden when Blake wanted to talk with Robyn you agreed to that shit! With no debate!

Yang: Okay that-

Jaune: Then when that old lady talked bad about Faunuses, you were ready to talk shit considering your girl is a Faunus. 

Yang: Okay, I-

Jaune: Nah, bitch, I am not FUCKING done. The Ever After you were crying over your sister, but before, what were you doing that you didn't notice her having a mental breakdown?

Yang: Umm… well-

Jaune:  See bitch I should- Ooh. Ooh.  

Yang: Okay but-

Jaune: And then when she finally broke down. Start yelling at Blake, you jump in front, protecting her, from your own sister. 

Yang: Okay but I am still there for her.

Jaune: You're right. You do. But still, you need to start balancing Blake and Ruby because if you don't, then your relationship will be just as bad as Qrow’s.

Yang: Yeah you're right. But hold on what makes you worse?

Jaune: Yang, I have seven sisters. The one sister you met, I allowed all of you into her house. Eat her food. Cracked her walls. Risked her wife’s job and in danger her whole family to get us to Atlas. And guess what, I never told her about Salem or the mission we're on. She's probably worried sick especially because I barely write to her. 

Yang: Damn. 

Jaune: In fact I haven't talked to my family in years. I haven't spoken to anyone in my family since Beacon.

Yang: What? 

Jaune: You heard me.

Yang: Oh my God, Jaune, you need to go home. 

Jaune: *stressed out* I know!

[howlingday]

Jaune: Blake? Nora? Can you give me the name of whoever's commissioning all these harem works involving me & my sister? I just wanna talk to them.

----

Salem: Ah... I love ruining the Arc's public image.

Nora: Nope!

Blake: I would like to help you, but I can't.

Jaune: Why not?!

Blake: We were commissioned to both create these works AND to keep the user anonymous. If we go telling people who our clients are, then we'd lose all credibility.

Jaune: Credibility?! What about MY credibility?! You think anyone would hire me as a huntsman thinking I'm being "tended to" by my sister and her wife?!

Nora: It's fine, Jaune! Besides, it's not like EVERYONE reads fanfics! It's just Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, Professor Port, Professor Oobleck-

Blake: Doctor Oobleck, and pretty much everyone on the Beacon staff EXCEPT Professor Peach, for some reason.

Nora: Well, she's never around, so there's that.

Blake: Oh, and General Ironwood and most of the Atlas military, too.

Jaune: How do you know that?!

Nora: Because Winny's our editor!

Jaune: Winny?

Blake: Winter Schnee. She's our editor. Actually, she proofread and made a lot of suggestions for our stories. Particularly when we have you and your sister refer to each other as "big sis" or "little bro".

Nora: Yeah, apparently siblings don't do that. Who knew?

Jaune: I KNEW, BECAUSE I HAVE SEVEN SISTERS!

Nora: Ooh! You think we could get a harem going with that?

Blake: Mm, I don't think so. Harem stories are seldom, if ever good. Unless it's a reverse harem, maybe.

Nora: (Gasps) IDEA~!

Jaune: NO! NO IDEAS!

--------------------------------------------------

Salem: Hm... Maybe I should ask for a reverse harem this time... Tyrian! Bring me my computer!

Cinder: Tyrian's on a mission, your grace.

Salem: Very well, Cinder. Bring me my computer.

Cinder: The one with the porn stickers on it?

Salem: It's called hentai and it is ART.

Cinder: ...Right away, ma'am. (Muttering) Fucking fujoshi...

[etinceelle]

Okay so, just so you know: DIllon Goo is friends with one of THE biggest RWDEs on the internet, the one who came up with the "Monty's Vision" creed so many people spout.

If he got his hands on the show, there'd be no Bumbleby, no Nuts and Dolts, nothing like that. It would be COMPLETELY unrecognizeable.

If he doesn't just reboot the show, everyone would hate Team RWBY for "betraying" Ironwood, Robyn Hill and the Happy Huntresses would be treated as irredeemable villains, and Team RWBY's arcs would be based around having to "accept that they were wrong to defy Ironwood" and then "learning to obey authority".

It would not be RWBY anymore.

I appreciate people for telling me because I wasn't aware of this story. I should also say that a lot of people in the fandom should understand that not everyone know about every detail and event that happened in the RWBY history, especially for people like me who discovered the series way later. Just thought I might say it just in case because I saw some people talk about it as if we're supposed to know when that's not the case.

If I can tell my honest opinion it's that at the moment it's too early to confirm anything. This might not happen, this might happen, we don't know, and I don't want to jump to any conclusions or fast opinions with only a few infos I got yesterday and today about that. From what I know this behavior came from Shane, but even if he's friend with Dillon this guy cannot call the shots alone. I think the best thing would be for current CRWBY to be able to finish the story like THEY wanted, like they first imagined it with Monty, and how they imagined it so far. I honestly don't know what good option could be because at the moment it's probably the only interested buyer and the one that fits the best for the show's style. If CRWBY express discomfort and refuse to go for that way for the reasons people told me about, then let respect that because they'll be the one to decide in the end.

I like Dillon Goo and their animations, that's why I supported the idea, but in the end it's for CRWBY to decide and no one else. If they think there might be a problem and they might ruin everything, that's for them to decide.

I should also mention that people's behaviors using events for their arguments is their responsability. On this aspect I'm not aware of everything so I only speak with what I know. But there will always be people who will also distort stuff to be able to use it their favor.

As for the ships, Bumbleby is canon already, undoing that would be really stupid and would sign the end of the story. And Nuts and Dolts isn't canon, it's the fantasy of a lot of people included mine but we don't even think if this was planned to be canon or not at some point, from what I know that's not the case. I understand what you mean because this is not just about ships here, but I'm not gonna jump to conclusions with how little infos I got at the moment

With all of that said, I just hope for a good conclusion for everyone.

[madman479r]

Jaune slaughtering any Grimm within a 20 meter range

Jaune: ~Don't you know I'm still standing! Better than I ever did!~

~Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid. I'm still standing after all this time!~

~Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind!~

~I'm still standing (yeah, yeah, yeah)~

~I'm still standing (yeah, yeah, yeah)~

RWBY:...

JNPR:...

Ace-Ops:...

Ironwood:...

Harriet: Should we tell him he's on an open channel?

Ironwood: Shhh. Let him cook.

[bestworstcase]

…a thought occurs to me.

the most significant gap in the general thrust of my theories regarding what went down between summer and raven that night is the question of raven’s status as the spring maiden being unknown to salem—if summer and raven fought and the spring maiden was mortally wounded in the crossfire, and summer then fled and joined salem, one presumes that raven would be high on the list of possibilities even if summer didn’t stay long enough to confirm spring had died.

and if it were unclear whether the last spring maiden had died or not, it surely wouldn’t be surprising for the spring maiden to stay with her mentor after this incident, thus the branwens should have at the top of salem’s list of places to look.

there is a simple solution (summer flees knowing that spring is too badly wounded to possibly survive, but before she dies, and raven manages to hide it well enough that a few years’ distant observation satisfy salem that the magic must not have gone to her), but… rwby does like its curveballs

and if raven’s primary allusion is indeed the morrígan and ‘all things must die’ is indeed about summer then at least in theory – in this context that makes summer cú chulainn.

(WHICH IS HYSTERICAL GIVEN. THE HOUND.)

so in that case we have some – again, strictly theoretical but interesting narrative beats; the insult cú chulainn gives to the morrígan, their foretelling of how she will try to sabotage him while he fights in single combat and the wounds he’ll give her in retaliation, and the way she tricks him into healing those wounds later.

from what little we know about that night, it seems like the plan was for summer to confront salem alone. and the somewhat acrimonious back-and-forth between them prior at least loosely suggests the hostile prelude. (very loosely, but within bounds for how rwby utilizes character allusion.)

which leaves open the interference, woundings, healing and the element of duplicity in the last; you told me once you would never heal me/had i known it was you, i would not have. before they leave patch raven is tangibly uneasy about this plan ("and… you’re just going to leave them?" + "let’s get this over with," not exactly votes of confidence).

and raven has that one save rule. the general expectation is for that "rule" to come into play as raven’s justification for abandoning summer to die, but – the rule isn’t real, it’s empty posturing. how does summer react if raven gets scared and tries to pull summer out before summer feels it’s necessary? they’ve only got one chance to take salem by surprise. and what happens if summer insists on trying again anyway?

it just seems, now that i’m thinking about it, like an interesting mythological narrative to mine for the summer-raven drama. the recurring pattern of the morrígan appearing to cú chulainn in disguise, culminating in a deception which tricks him into healing injuries he inflicted upon her himself… raven using vernal as a decoy in the present… hm. a reverse situation of raven being the decoy-maiden back feels a little implausible; raven having pushed her shape-changing magic further than anyone realizes, less so. both conceptually interesting. with or without magic, raven’s skilled at misdirection.

i’ve just been circling on “if i’d known it was you, i wouldn’t have” coming into play, somehow, in the last spring maiden dying and raven inheriting the magic without summer or salem becoming aware of the latter. ironwood knows right away that winter received the magic, and it looks very dramatic when cinder gets the second half of the fall maiden… but cinder doesn’t notice penny’s become the maiden until snowflakes start drifting around, so it’s not… that far of a stretch to think the visual ‘tell’ is really just the magic itself manifesting, and raven (being a shapeshifter) already had experience with magic – maybe enough to suppress any visible sign.

[iamafanofcartoons]

RWBY Bumbleby Development Scene V7C7

Alright, let me talk about one that is a bit more underappreciated amidst all the amazing scenes they have.  Their talk in V7C7 is one of my favorite scenes in the entire show for multiple reasons.  But my main reason is the amazing portrayal of a healthy disagreement.

Usually bring this one up as often as I can, especially when comparing Yang and Adam, because it's one of the scenes which truly highlights how great of a foil Adam was, and in a way still is, for Yang.  Disagreements are inevitable. Regardless of the relationship you have  with a person. No matter how close you are with someone, you can't always agree with them. And that's okay. The important thing is always in how you both handle it.

Whenever Blake and Adam disagreed on something, Adam never listened to Blake's concerns, he always brushed  them aside or even went as far as to guilt trip her.

You don't have to end up agreeing with whoever you're having a disagreement, it's fine if you don't.  But the least you can do is listen to their concerns and take them to heart, which Adam never did.  And that's ultimately what makes the V7C7 scene so great for me. Blake and Yang don't even end up agreeing on the whole Ironwood situation, and that was fine, they didn't have to.  Yang listened to Blake's concerns, then put on the table her own point of view. 

In the end the conversation switches topics to Adam's death (which I'll get to in a bit), but it's clear in Volume 8 they didn't end up agreeing with each other's points of view here Yang still believed they should have told Ironwood the truth, while Blake didn't And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

In the end nothing changed between them due to the disagreement because this is a healthy relationship.  That was a healthy discussion between two people with different points of views.(the FNDM could never lmao)  It's a discussion which, along with Ruby and Yang's  disagreement as well, showed that just because you end up disagreeing with someone you love, that doesn't mean you love them any less.  Because that's what a healthy relationship of any kind is all about. Communication.  And that leads to the second part of the conversation  which solidified this scene as one of the best in the show for me, the talk about Adam's death.  Now obviously, I would have loved a bit more focus on this, but I am content with what we got too.  Because in the end it's once again an amazing comparison between Yang and Adam.

You can tell from her surprised face from the end of the conversation, but Blake didn't really expect her words to change anything.  Because that's what she was used to, her words not holding any weight and being brushed aside.  Her body language, the way she wraps her arms  around herself which we saw back in her argument with Adam too, it shows just how small and powerless she feels in both moments

But this is Yang. Blake's words hold more weight for Yang than she could have realized. Agreeing or disagreeing, it doesn't matter Yang never wants  for Blake to be forced to do something she doesn't want to. 

 And it's truly heartbreaking in a way how you can see Blake's surprise. How she was not used to her words being listened to.  But then the surprise breaks into a smile as she realizes that yes, this is Yang. Not Adam.

That Yang always listened to what she had to say regardless of if they agreed or not.  And all of this was such a great portrayal of a healthy disagreement. Of communication in a relationship.  And to top it all off, this all happens while that incredible instrumental of an  acoustic version of Trust Love plays in the background.  Because that's what they choose to do. To trust in each other, to trust in the love they have for each other and open up. 

https://twitter.com/SAlle1304/status/1635417982125113344

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Ruby: Not that I'm bored, but why can't we just use an airship to take these supplies out to Amity?

Penny: The components for Amity’s construction are far too heavy. All that weight would require precious dust we should be saving for the launch itself. And the Grimm that will come after.

Ruby: It just makes for a long, very long supply run.

Penny: At least the tundra is scenic.

Ruby: Totally.

Penny: Ruby! I just wanted to say how excited I am to be working with you in a professional capacity. As friends!

Ruby: Me too, Penny.

Penny: Relationships are so interesting. And varied.

Ruby: Speaking of friends. Have you been able to make any new ones? Since, you know...

Penny: Now that I’m the official protector of Mantle I don’t really have a team any more. General Ironwood says I don’t have time for friends.

Ruby: Oh uh… how do you feel about that?

Penny: I feel like I wish I could do both the things I need to do, and the things I want to do. Is that normal?

Ruby: That’s about as normal as it gets Penny.

Penny: Ruby...

Ruby: Penny.

Penny: You first.

Ruby: Uh, okay. I talked to Ozpin the other day. We talked about making you one of the maidens. My team and I discussed how you were probably built with that in mind. I just wanted to make sure it was okay with you, though.

Penny: I understand your worry, Ruby. But I am more than up for the task. Either spring or fall, I don't really mind.

Ruby: Well, okay if you're sure. What was it you were going to ask about?

Penny: I was going to ask how you were with your relationships, Ruby. You asked after mine after all. It seems like something a friend would do.

Ruby: Well what did you mean?

Penny: Well you have had a boyfriend now. What was that like?

Ruby: It was uh good.

Penny: I've never had a boyfriend of my own. I've never talked to the General about it, either. Or my father.

Ruby: I wasn't very good at talking to my family about it either. Romantic stuff that is. It took me forever to tell Yang and by the time I did… well I didn't so much as tell her so much as she caught us.

Penny: Caught you?

Ruby: We were just kissing. I mean, it was going places if I had my say in it but we were just kissing when she walked in on us. She found out that way.

Penny: Going places? Had you and Jaune been places before then?

Ruby: A handful of times.

Penny: Ruby! That was scandalous of you. What happened next?

Ruby: Yang pulled him off of me and slammed him into a wall.

Penny: So… he was on top of you, then. And your sister just ripped you apart.

Ruby: I'd been trying to wrap my legs around him but...And Jaune just sort of stood there looking dazed. It wasn't because of being slammed into the wall. He's fairly robust. He was just sort of out of it because we'd been kissing. I might be a good kisser. You could, like, see it.

Penny: Ruby! Do you mean… his…?

Ruby: Through the hem of his pants.

Penny: Was he… was he large?

Ruby: I think so. Not so much until he was inside. If that makes any kind of sense. Then it seemed like he was huge but in a good way. A really awesome feel good kind of way.

Penny: Ruby!

Qrow: Is everything alright up there!?

Ruby: We're fine!

Ruby: Penny are you… are you built, down there?

Penny: I'm designed to one day have children. If I so choose. With the right upgrades as pregnancy goes on. My father thought it was important.

Ruby: He told you?

Penny: Oh yes. He gave me the talk. He thought it was important that I have the freedom of expression that having children is. The eggs are from donors which were engineered. And I don't quite have a monthly cycle. But other than that things are roughly the same.

Ruby: You don't have a cycle? Brag about it, you queen.

Penny: Ruby!

Ruby: How roughly the same are we talking about here?

Penny: Ru -by ! The same enough.

[bobauthorman]

I have a statement to make, and I knew none of your are going to like. But I have to get it out of my system, so here it goes.

Ruby was wrong to lie to Ironwood at the beginning of Volume 7.

(Ducks thrown tomatoes)

NOW, let me say I am NOT saying Ironwood’s breakdown was Ruby’s fault, nor the subsequent destruction of Atlas and the Relics should be laid at her feet. She is NOT responsible for those events. It’s just, the lying thing still was not a good idea.

I know, I know. “But Ruby was right! Ironwood wasn’t trustworthy!” and “How can you expect her to trust the guy after the last bunch of authority figures screwed with her and her friends?!”

But the thing is, while Team Remnant couldn’t trust Ironwood with the truth, they did trust him otherwise. They accepted his gifts, worked with his soldiers, and helped him remain in power…an act that blew up in their faces when Cinder push Ironwood’s mental Big Red Button. 

When Ironwood outlines the first the step of his plan is to reestablish global communications, tell the world about Salem and then send his fleet to defend the other kingdoms, Ruby comments, “That…is a good plan.” From that one sentence, she shows that her hiding the truth was not just a matter of keeping from having a breakdown, but also keeping him on course for “a good plan.” The rest of us (Well, some of us) have the perspective and time to fully grasp and analyze how badly this plan could go. But Ruby does not have that perspective. As both Yang and Oscar point out, this is very similar to how Ozpin operated, and we all know how that worked. Overall, this was Xiao Long family’s usual method of dealing with difficult subjects by…not dealing and instead trying to bury their unease with work.

Now, to Ruby’s credit, when she sees what appears to be Ironwood opening up to others, she takes it as a cue that he can handle the full truth. And at no point does anyone realize that Salem herself is on the way, or that Cinder has been in Atlas for who knows how long. But by waiting so long, Ironwood has had too many shocking revelations that he can’t process finding out about the latter two. It’s just poor timing.

Ultimately, the decision to hold off on telling Ironwood the truth was a delaying action. It didn’t so much make the situation worse, but it did not make things better, especially with Watts and Tyrian doing their best to tweak the general’s nerves. Now, the question is, would telling him early on stop a breakdown?

I’m gonna say no.

And I think that’s the whole point of what I’m trying to say. Ironwood was always on a road to ruin. But if they had gotten it over with sooner, Team Remnant would only have had to deal with the mad general. By putting it off, this meant they were forced into a three-way conflict with both the Atlas Army and Salem herself. Ruby has a coping mechanism where she tries to avoid difficult subjects by burying herself in work, which is exactly what happened in Atlas. She felt bad about hiding the truth from Ironwood, and then got distracted by the endless missions. While on paper they were helping Atlas, it was the equivalent of dousing brushfires while not doing anything about the arsonist- everything wrong with Atlas was at present the result of Ironwood’s policies. He needed a wake-up call.

Now, I’m sure a lot of you will get on my case about this. We all want our heroes to be these flawless paragons who always make the right call. But one of RWBY’s themes that the ‘Perfect Hero’ just doesn’t exist. The show’s protagonists make mistakes. They act hypocritically. But what makes them better than the villains or even mentors who also do this is that they are far more willing to recognize those mistakes and try to deal with them.

[kitkatopinions]

Gonna do a quick headcount of things that SHOULD happen before the end of RWBY. No I will not be leaving out things that would be consequences for stuff from seasons ago, just because it'd feel awkward and clunky at this point doesn't mean it still isn't important because it never WAS addressed. And also note that some of these are obviously more important than others, but they all still should happen.

Ruby and Blake should have preferably more than one moment focused on building their friendship.

Members of RWBYJNROQ who don't have established dynamics need at least small relationship building such as Qrow and Blake, Ren and Weiss, Weiss and Oscar, etcetera.

What happened with Pietro and Maria in V8 needs addressed.

Someone needs to talk to Pietro about Penny.

Blake and Yang need to have a conversation where Blake opens up about her past, they address what happened when Blake left, and they talk about Yang's hesitancy to be apart.

Blake and Sun need to have a conversation (if only in passing) about her being with Yang and establishing that they're still friends.

Nora and Ren need time apart and then need to figure out where their relationship is going.

Nora needs a strong character arc outside of Ren.

Emerald needs more work done in her redemption and needs to face some of what she's done and the people she should logically be emotional about leaving behind.

We need to establish the fallout of Atlas going down and the logically-must-be-there distrust that would sprout up around Hunters, the Military, etcetera.

We need to know what will happen to the Schnees and how they're adjusting to things.

Consequences of revealing the Maidens and magic to the general public.

Someone outside of Ruby and freaking Jaune should grieve Penny such as Winter and the Ace Ops.

Weiss needs to be concerned with helping and/or connecting with Whitley.

Oscar and Ozpin's merge needs to be addressed and talked about and potentially happen or they need to find a work around.

Team RWBY + J should tell their friends what happened in the Ever After.

We need to address the Ruby stuff in V9, Ruby's recovery cannot be super quick, WBY and Jaune especially should step up and admit their part in it.

We need to address what's been happening in Vale.

We need to find out where the last two Relics are and the group needs to work to protect them from Salem.

We need to get the Relics in Salem's hands out of her hands.

We need to know who the Summer Maiden is.

We need to have the group realize that Raven is the Spring Maiden and address Yang's lie.

God knows I hate when he gets focus, but we need Jaune to deal with what happened to him and specifically give some focus to him reuniting with his team and them reacting to him mentally being like forty.

We need to deal with the whole 'once the Relics are united, the gods will come back and wipe out humanity if it isn’t perfect' thing.

People still need to learn to be sympathetic to Oz and not treat him like an enemy.

We need to learn about and deal with whatever Mercury and Tyrian are doing in Vacuo.

We need to establish what's happening with the Ace Ops and Happy Huntresses.

We need to figure out what's happening with Qrow and deal with how he handled Ruby and Yang supposedly 'dying.'

We need to establish what life is like for the Atlas/Mantle refugees and what Vacuo is doing for them.

We need to establish Theodore as a character and why we the audience should trust or like him.

We still need members of Oz's inner circle to emotionally deal with what happened with Ironwood.

We need characters that should by all rights be a bit more important to get brought back in and be at least a little involved such as Glynda, Taiyang, Ilia, and Sun and Neptune.

We need to know what really happened to Summer and deal with the fallout of whatever it is.

Yang and Ruby need something to heal the rift between them.

We need people to figure out a way to defeat Salem.

We need to have people struggling to get people together to fight Salem and deal with possible conflicts surrounding that (considering the fact that having an army was considered a sign of pure evil when it was Ironwood)

We need to defeat Salem.

If CRWBY intends to bring in the Crown from the ATF/BTD books, they need to be established and dealt with as well.

This is all just off the top of my head! Yes, some of these things seem like they're going to be (badly) addressed in passing from the little promo that was originally supposed to end V9, but we don’t know how much of that will change and I personally am unsatisfied with almost everything in it and still think we need further exploring for all that stuff. (And no, I'm not considering Justice League or RWBY Beyond to be good enough if the main series doesn't make sense or have emotional payoff.)

My point here is... There is so much left to do in RWBY (arguably that should've been done AGES ago,) that I'm having a really hard believing much of it will be done. And I fear that whatever they do try to deal with will just be jam packed into the next season at the speed of light with no real payoff and it'll wind up badly done or unsatisfying because of it. Especially if they try to introduce loads more in V10 the way they did in V9.

RWBY is for sure the show with good concepts, because while I was writing out that list, I was sitting here thinking about how some of it could be pretty good and impactful in the hands of good writers. But it's also the show of no emotional payoff, and I seriously doubt that this next season is gonna deliver.

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

We've seen Jaune's extended family and We've seen _NPR's extended family....

BUT

What about Ozpin's extended family? I can totally see Gojo and Raiden (MGRR) being openly related to Ozpin. Gojo would DEFINITELY try and hit on Glynda just to piss of Ironwood lmao

Hmm. I dunno about Raiden. It's not just about looks, it's also about Powers, Vibes, and fighting style. Gojo Makes sense, Raiden feels more like a Schnee Cousin or one of Adam's relatives.

~~~~~

Yang: There's no way they're younger than 55.

Nora: Look at them! Look at their smooth skin and brilliant smiles and tell me that they're old!

Ozpin: Frieren, it has been too long since we last talked.

Frieren: It has been. You seem to be doing well.

Ozpin: Indeed I am. My apprentice has been doing well.

Frieren: Oh yes, that Pine boy. How old is he now?

Ozpin: Uhh ... Fourteen I believe.

Frieren: Hmm. "Time does Fly" as they say.

Ozpin: How has Fern Been?

Frieren: Very well. Developing into a fine young woman.

Ozpin: ...

Frieren: ... Your students are following us.

Ozpin: I'm quite aware.

*Bush_Rustle.MP3*

Ozpin: And now, they are not.

Frieren: I can tell. I can also tell that you are Tired.

Ozpin: I have been tired for a long time.

Frieren: ...

Ozpin: ...

Frieren: I will find a way to free you. I haven't stopped looking.

Ozpin: I know. And you know what I'll tell you about that, right?

Frieren: "I know how to free myself, I'm still just figuring it out."

Ozpin: It's good to know your memory hasn't faded with age.

Frieren: I'd say the same, but your wit is lacking it's sharpness, you foolhardy coot.

Ozpin: What can I say? It is nice to see an old friend after so many years.

Frieren: *smiling in silence*

Ozpin: *Smiling with her*

???: *Distantly* EXPLOOOOSION!

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM*

Ozpin: Ah, It seem is I may need to check on another visitor. Apologies for cutting our time short, but I know well we are not lacking in it's supply. Good day.

Frieren: A good day to you as well Ozma.

~~~~~

Gojo: *Laying on Ozpin's desk* Hey Hey! If it isn't the most Cursed man himself, and I've got to say, you are looking pretty alright for your age.

Ozpin: Thank you Mister Satoru. Please get out of my office.

Gojo: I'm just checkin' in, making sure you don't have anything you shouldn't. Your office seems clean!

Ozpin: I should certainly hope so. Glynda!

Gojo: Hey hey hey, There's no need to be so rough with your Cousin!

Glynda: *Lifting Gojo with her semblance* You know you aren't supposed to be in here.

Gojo: *Not resisting her* Fine, I'll go at the request of such a gorgeous lady~

Glynda: *Flinging him into the elavator* Out.

Gojo: Wait a minute!

Ozpin: WHAT!

???: *Distantly* EXPLOOOOSION!

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM*

Gojo: You should go check on that.

Glynda: ... That girl is infuriating.

Ozpin: Not as much as her teammates.

~~~~~~

Marcille: *Shoveling food into her mouth*

Ozpin: You must be hungry.

Marcille: *Gulp* For something Normal? Absolutely! This is like a Cheat day without Senshi to scold me for eating things that aren't balanced. *Overdramatic Sniffle* It's been so long since I had chocolate ...

Ozpin: Well ... just try not to overeat. I know it can be tempting to have more than your fill of luxury, but do try not to make yourself ill.

Marcille: ... *Sigh* Fine. How have you been?

Ozpin: Tired, but things have been improving. It is nice to see you again my dear.

Marcille: "My Dear"? You are old.

Ozpin: Yes, yes I am. How has Falin been recovering?

Marcille: Fairly well, Laios has been by her side day and night. He's not been sleeping well, and when he does he has nightmares. I worry for him.

Ozpin: Ah yes, I have a current student that is quite like Mr Touden, though he is a bit more charming with people.

Marcille: "A bit?"

Ozpin: Yes, He's not as well read, but he is somewhat better at reading people-

???: *Distantly* EXPLOOOOSION!

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM*

Ozpin: *White Knuckling Long Memory* I swear if my hair wasn't already white- I'm afraid I have to go check Someone Marcille. Please eat until you're full and comfortable, then give Falin, Laios, Senshi, and Chilchuck my greetings and well wishes.

~~~~~

???: Excuse me Headmaster Ozpin, I have an Inquiry.

Ozpin: Oh- Oh hello. I see my reputation proceeds me, What is you're name miss ...

2B: I am referred to as 2B. I am searching for one "Pietro Polendina."

Ozpin: He'll be with the Atlesians, over-

???: EXPLOOOOSION!

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM*

Ozpin: WHERE IS SHE!

2B: *Sword at the ready* The source of that detonation came from that direction.

Ozpin: Thank you! I will handle this myself, you may go.

2B: Is that an Order?

Ozpin: Yes!

2B: *Sheathing her sword* Very well.

~~~~~

???: Move it Kazuma!

Kazuma: I'm going, I'm going! Calm down.

Ozpin: You two!

Megumin: Aw crud

Ozpin: Have you been launching those explosions off?

Kazuma: Megumin has. Why?

Ozpin: You've been causing disturbances, damaging property, and driving me to near madness!

Kazuma: Well Megumin said she she got perm-

Kazuma: You lied didn't you?

Megumin: ... I didn't think anyone would care ...

Kazuma: Really? Again Megumin!

Ozpin: Mr. Sato, please go on back the dormitories. I will take the young mage here to be written up for her infractions and returned to her cousins.

Kazuma: *Dropping her* Alright, sounds good to me.

Megumin: Jerk!

Ozpin: Come on, Let's get you back to Miss Rose and Miss Xiao-long.

Megumin: *Grumble*

[howi99]

A Qrow's nest prologue 3

Ozpin: *drink from his thermos* I heard what happened yesterday.

Qrow: *sweating* Ozpin i-

Ozpin: *stopping him with a hand gestures* I'm not mad, Qrow. In fact, i probably would be mad if you did nothing instead. *Look at Cinder* Tell me, Cinder, what is your age?

Cinder: *hiding behind Qrow* I'm 8... I think.

Ozpin: *shaking his head* She looks clearly malnourished. *Look at Qrow* i wanted to talk to you in private but...

Qrow: *putting a hand on Cinder's head* She doesn't really trust anyone and i can't really blame her. *Look at her* She reminds me of myself when i was her age. *Kneel at her height* Cinder, would you like visiting Beacon?

Cinder: *slowly acquiesce*

Qrow: *smile* I have a friend, she looks mean but she would protect everyone she could with her very life. I'd like for you to visit the school with her.

Cinder: ... Will you leave me behind?

Qrow: *shaking his head* No. I promised, didn't i? I just need to have a talk with my friend. *Looking at Ozpin*

Ozpin: *smile* I'm sure Glynda would be thrilled to guide you, she may look grumpy but she's a real human teddy bear.

Cinder: Ok...

_________

10 minutes later, when Glynda took Cinder to see the premise

Qrow: Now, what did you want to tell me?

Ozpin: As you know, after the fiasco of yesterday you won't be able to enter in Atlas, at least for a time.

Qrow: Ironwood told me i should stay low for a time.

Ozpin: *shaking his head* I will need your help for something. Theirs an augmentation in grimm attack near a certain SDC mining operation.

Qrow: That's unsurprising.

Ozpin: I don't think you understand, it's alarming and clearly something is going on. I'll need you to work as security for the mine and see what's really happening.

Qrow: *sigh* Ozpin, i'd be "thrilled" to go fight grimm for a scummy company, but i kinda have to take care of an eight years old.

Ozpin: She could be the perfect alibi for you to enter their services. A single father huntsman down on his luck.

Qrow: You can't be serious! I won't bring a child near a place you specifically said was getting attacked by grimm!

Ozpin: You wouldn't be alone. Glynda would be following you and i did give you the gift of flight for a reason. You'd be able to live in the city while working at the mine.

Qrow: Still, why not sending Glynda by herself?

Ozpin: You know damn well she is far too known by the public. She is the youngest person to have become professor at Beacon.

Qrow: *roll his eyes* Then what about Arc?

Ozpin: Still pregnant. And Verdant is already working on something else.

Qrow: Again!? Isn't that her 7th?

Ozpin: 7th and 8th. She's having twins.

Qrow: For fuck sake. Fine! What's good having allies when they are always unavailable?

Ozpin: *smiling* You shouldn't have been this reliable Qrow.

_____

Cinder: So uh....

Glynda: You can call me Glynda.

Cinder: Ok. So, Glynda, what is this room?

Glynda: This is the library, dear. It's... My favorite place in the school.

Cinder: Oh?

Glynda: Yes. I like the atmosphere of the place. *Looking at cinder who didn't understand* The feeling of it, if you prefer.

Cinder: Oh!

Glynda: I particularly like reading adventures novel and romance but don't tell Qrow, he still believes i only read study material.

Cinder: How did you meet him?

Glynda: Hm? Oh, he tried hitting on me when we were in the same year.

Cinder: Did you date him?

Glynda: *a bit of pink appearing in her features* N-no! Of course not! He was a slacker and a complete slob!

Cinder: And what about now?

Glynda: W-well, he did get better... I think. But still far too immature!.. maybe i should tell you of some of his misadventures?

Qrow: *appearing from behind a door* Should i tell her about when you outdrank me during the dance?

Glynda: QROW!? When did you arrive?

Qrow: Around the time you called me a slob? *Look at Cinder* Hey kid, i need to talk with you.

Glynda : *getting back her calm* Did you come to an agreement with Ozpin?

Qrow: Apparently WE *point at them then himself* Have to go to mistral for a bit.

Cinder: *shake her head* I hate Mistral, everyone is mean.

Qrow: *sigh* I feel you kid, but we sadly have no choice. Though it's not for long, about 2 weeks.

Cinder: ok... Do i have the time to read a book?

Qrow: Uh? *Look at the library* Oh yeah, we don't leave until next week anyway. You got the time.

Cinder: *looking happy* Glynda! Show me your favorite book!

Glynda: *wincing* I-i'll try. *Goes with Cinder inside the library*

Qrow: ... She better not give her the smut she was reading in hiding back in the day.

End of first prologue, 3 more to go!

[howlingday]

So who would rank as the best fighters in Rwby that don't have magic? So no Maidens,Salem,Brother Gods, the Tree or Opzin. Anyone else including the Curious Cat is a choice. (I'm saying the cat counts for this list because even though it's magic we at least have a clear understanding of how his powers work.)

The best fighters? Hoof... That's a tall order, especially since I'd have to look over all the candidates I can remember. But I'll narrow it down to TEN characters, in order to appease the [tumblr] gif limit.

General James Ironwood: Simply put, you don't become the headmaster of a huntsman academy by being weak or stupid, because this commanding officer is definitely neither... relatively speaking. Granted, one could argue against his battle tactics as a military general, but I think when compared to other huntsmen, there's not a lot of characters you can say that require an ambush by almost a dozen people to take down! So yeah, General Ironwood is definitely an intimidating character to start off with.

Ruby Rose: Yeah, I know, I know. Ruby's the main character, so of course she's gonna be on this list! But to be fair (to be fair), she's EARNED her place as a main character. The series starts off with her easily thrashing goons, followed by her heading off to Beacon Academy two years early for her skill against such an impressive foe. And she's only grown ever since. Given time, I can totally see Ruby being the hero who saves Remnant and looks good while doing it.

Neopolitan: Barring magic is one thing, but some characters never needed magic to be overpowered. One such character started off as a generic sidekick villain who bailed Torchwick out. Then she comes back later that same Volume to style and beat down on RWBY's heaviest hitter. Heck, Neo would've ended Yang if it wasn't for Raven showing up! And while Neo doesn't have magic, she does have an overpowered semblance that makes her a nuisance at first and a crisis by the end! Tell me, dear reader; what happens when you put a girl whose semblance called, "Overactive Imagination" inside of a FAIRY TALE?! I'll tell you what you get- YOU GET A NIGHTMARE.

Pyrrha Nikos: Ooh, boy, now this is where things get sad. Pyrrha was the best fighter in Volume 1-3 solely for the fact that she was the one fighter EVERYONE knew about. Pyrrha was getting wins BEFORE the series started and she started racking up wins afterwards against Grimm and other students, too. Sadly, this poor, young Achilles was not truly invincible, for her tender heart was what got her killed... And also an arrow to said tender heart.

Cinder Fall: And speaking of arrows to tender hearts, I should give credit where credit is due, and it's overdue for Cinder Fall. First up, let's look at Cinder WITHOUT her magic. Her semblance, Caress, increases the temperature of things she touches, burning and even melting them. Heck, she was even throwing fireballs BEFORE the Maiden powers were hers! Not to mention she was throwing down with Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon and definitely the oldest man on the planet! She managed to outwit and outpace a man with centuries of experience. She then went on to kill the best fighter of the roster at Beacon Academy and steal her powers, only becoming wounded by Ruby's silver eyes. And this was all BEFORE she became the Fall Maiden.

Tyrian Callows: I want to admit something. I have a certain bias both towards and against Tyrian. Towards him, he's one of my favorite villains simply for the sheer lengths he'll go to in order to please his goddess, regardless of who he has to kill and how many. Against him, while I will admit he has some of the best fights in the series, his best fight is also the worst in the entire series. Story-wise, that is, because for some reason the other two combatants got way stupider than they should have.

Qrow Branwen: And speaking of fighters getting dumber than they should, here comes one now! Qrow was our introduction to what a REAL huntsman was like. And he did not disappoint! ...At least, when he first showed up. When Team RWBY were struggling against Tyrian, Qrow came in and fought him to a standstill. If Ruby didn't put herself in danger trying to help, Qrow could have won the battle and even been a big help later. Then again, for as skilled as Qrow may be, he's also got some personal issues that make him more of a hinderance than a boon.

Blake Belladonna: Thinking on it, Blake might be the best fighter of Team RWBY, besides Ruby. She has probably the most versatile weapon of the group, neither limited by range nor function, and watching her fight is always entertaining because, well, she's an agile-build fighter who uses airborne attacks to both maintain distance and to build momentum for closing in with killing blows. While Weiss and Yang also have their uses as support and tank builds, Blake feels like the only other fighter who actually has experience fighting.

Jaune Arc: Big surprise, we have the big man himself, Jaune Arc on my list. To the surprise of no one. No, but seriously, Jaune is someone to be praised for his combat skill, especially since his story is about how he literally showed up with 0 skill. I've seen people meme him as "Dark Souls style" and I can't argue. Where everyone else is over the top with their combat, Jaune manages to stay relatively grounded by comparison. No jumping or magic; just pure human strength, and what strength he has! Though, I will say that his usual style is more akin to tank/wall tactics. He's strong enough to take hits from heavy hitters, protecting his allies from heavy, crippling blows, and his semblance keeps himself and others in the fight.

Now, who else do we talk about... Oh, right! Since you brought them up...

The Curious Cat: For this, let's explain how their power works. Simply put, the Curious Cat's power mostly resides in their ability to possess creatures in a weakened state. Ruby was the intended target of this possession, having been forced by the Cat to avoid ascension while becoming physically and emotionally weaker over time. In the end, however, Ruby did ascend, and the Cat was forced to change their plans to possess Neo, who had also recently become emotionally vulnerable. Tactically speaking, the Cat is dangerous simply for their ability to take over and use the powers of another which, as stated previously, is overpowered to MAXIMUM. Once Neo had outlived her use, the Cat then made themselves more powerful by changing their body into something more combative. Combative enough to push Team WBY and Jaune to their limits. It wasn't until Ruby, who found new purpose and strength within herself that she was able to overcome the "Furious Cat" with the aid of her team.

So... yeah.

[itsclydebitches]

Right, so I was looking over your recap of Worthy again and didn't see you mention how absolutely contrived the circumstances of the James vs Winter fight were. If you remember from Creation, Winter explicitly states "No. When we're finished, we'll move both of you to safety." when Jacques asks if she'd be leaving him there. Logically, this would mean the next we see of Winter she'd be transporting James and Jacques to the nearest available portal but she doesn't? She just conveniently forgets about them. And I'd be FINE with that if it was written as a deliberate choice by Winter. "Sorry Weiss, these two men have negatively affected my life beyond repair and I can never forgive them." and while I don't necessarily agree wholeheartedly with that line of thinking because no matter what, every life should be fought for and saved in a scenario with magic transportation portals such as this. It'd at least be SOME sort of explanation that's in line with the narrative CRWBY is trying to tell. Instead we get her walking around aimlessly in the Atlas Vault, trying to communicate with everyone on the plan's status. Which makes no sense given that we've already seen the ground shake elsewhere meaning SOMETHING has happened to notify everyone that Atlas is falling. And I thought maybe I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she doesn't know since no portals have spawned in the vault yet and then I rechecked and they HAVE.

She should be sprinting for the portal. Atlas is falling. She needs to go go go but instead she just calmly walks towards it? Is time not of the essence? Where's the urgency? Like I get that sprinting in heels up a flight of stairs that large would be absolute murder on her ankles but still. They dumb her down just for the sake of a stupid fight that nerfs her so she NEEDS Penny to die to give her the powers and win in a fight she should have no issues with.

If I'm also giving her the benefit of the doubt - and from what I can recall after an admittedly long hiatus from watching this particular episode - I think she intended to move Ironwood and Jacques after the evacuation is complete. "When we're finished." So yes, she knows Atlas is falling because that's a prerequisite of the portals appearing. She knows the evacuation is underway and that something is going on thanks to communications being down, but not what. Winter has her next step planned, but no indication of if she should start it yet because she's not able to contact anyone and presumably she wouldn't want to go through the portal until she's planning to leave Atlas permanently. (We know that they can use the portals to get around Atlas/Mantle thanks to Jaune portal hopping to look for survivors, but I'm not sure that's ever established among the other characters. AKA Winter might think she shouldn't go through one until she's ready to leave it all behind, but she can't do that until she's gotten Ironwood and her dad).

But all the above keeps it just as contrived and stupid? Why does Winter need to wait until "When we're finished" to move them? To my recollection the show never establishes anything like, "You're a security risk so we're going to ensure everyone else is through before dealing with you" or "Based on our battle we'll need the rest of the team present to move Ironwood" or even a variation of your idea: "In theory I believe that no one should be left to die, but considering you made our lives hell, Jacques, we're not going to worry about you until everyone else is safe. You get rescued if there's time left :)" It's just such a weird situation that, yes, exists to ensure that Ironwood is conveniently alone so that only his cell can conveniently open so that he can conveniently go find Winter who is all alone in the vault... because?

This could 100% be me forgetting some aspect of Volume 8, but why is she in there again? She's not guarding the Staff because the girls already have it. She's not guarding the portal because portals have opened up all over the city and Ironwood/the villains can slip through any of them to reach the same place (as Cinder did). She's not playing decoy - misleading others into thinking the Staff is still there - because she's totally blindsided by Ironwood's attack. I'm just trying to remember/figure out the justification for this because if there isn't any that makes the fact that Winter isn't rounding up the prisoners all the more absurd. Her role in this plan seems to be to twiddle her thumbs (in a random place she has no good reason to be in) until she's told that all the hard work is already done. Then she can do the one errand she could have been doing this whole time.

I will say, thinking about it now I'm not against Winter being at a disadvantage against Ironwood, regardless of whether or not she's nerfed in terms of the skill she displays. Her losing tracks for me in terms of her being the subordinate/having him as a mentor in the early Volumes (implying that he's stronger not just politically, but combat-wise too), age (again, the older character is likely to have more experience + time to train their skills), and the fact that just recently we saw Ironwood going toe-to-toe against her, Emerald, and all of team JNOR, holding his own until he was inevitably overwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, everything is still wrong with Penny dying to give Winter the Maiden powers, from how her death was orchestrated all the way to a semi-literal deus ex machina that lets Winter win via convenient magical powerup. We could have had the more interesting a) she wins through a really smart tactic or b) she looses and now Ironwood is thrown into the portal bridge fray instead of being left to presumably die off screen :/

[rwde-rewrites]

I find it deeply amusing that the show keeps going on about how Salem divides people and that's how she wins, even though she hasn't actually directly or successfully divided the heroes since V5 with Leo. Don't get me wrong, she tried to do this in V7 by having Tyrian and Watts frame Ironwood, but that attempt failed and both of her agents got arrested.

Every single time the heroes have turned on each other since V6 has been entirely of their own volition without any direct involvement on Salem's part.

RWBY chose to use the lamp on their own, and then they chose to ostracize Oz because of what they learned on their own. Neither Salem or her agents convinced them to use the lamp by suggesting that Ozpin was hiding something from them. Nobody twisted the information they learned to convince them the situation was hopeless and make them angrier at Ozpin.

Same with V7. No, I don't count Cinder leaving the chess piece on Ironwood's desk, because that ultimately wasn't the source of the fallout. It's not like Ironwood became paranoid that Salem's agents were still in Atlas and then thought Team RWBY was actually in league with her (despite that being a route they could have easily gone with, especially since RWBY was keeping secrets like the lamp, Ozpin, and telling Robyn about Amity a secret from him). No, the fallout with Ironwood had nothing to do with trust or paranoia. It was entirely a disagreement about if they should retreat or fight. There was no manipulation on the part of Salem's faction, all she did was ride up in her Gigantamax Wailord and the heroes turned on each other.

And this still could have worked. You just need to reframe it from "Salem divides people in order to win" to "The fallible nature of humanity causes us to fight amongst ourselves when we should instead come together in the face of disaster". But nope, instead, every time the heroes fight they go "This is what Salem wants" and "We can't let her divide us", even though Salem hasn't divided diddly-squat.

[bestworstcase]

An additional reason for Winter and Cinder to interact - Puts Choice and Creation together as themes.

Knowledge is targeting information when paired. What are you choosing/creating/destroying. Why? (And Raven's already interacted with Cinder and Spring is in Vacuo to interact with Winter and Summer)

Destruction- Knowing what to destroy, choosing to destroy, clearing the field for a new planting.

Creation and Choice - that's trickier. To the point where honestly the choice to start anew, to start something is the only thing that I can think of.

Which - Atlas/Mantle is destroyed. Destruction has already been wrought. What comes after the fire?

the funny part is, the narrative is already doing this. has been since v3, when winter:

Emotions can grant you strength, but you must never let them overpower you. It sounds to me like you have two choices in front of you: you can either call [father], beg for his money back, and explain once more why you would want to study at Beacon over Atlas, or you could continue to explore Remnant, discovering more about the world and, honestly, about yourself.

couches her advice to weiss in these terms. you can choose to beg for father’s money, or you can choose to go without for the sake of living and growing and learning beyond his reach. she poses it as an open-ended observation but the way she phrases each path makes it quite clear what she thinks weiss ought to do. and again in v7, when winter tells weiss that ironwood picked her to become his maiden and weiss asks if that bothers her:

 It did at first, when the General first proposed it to me. But the more I thought about it, the more I saw it as a privilege, a chance to do some real good for Atlas. For Remnant. […] I’m choosing it now. I've made it my own. And I take great pride in it. That has nothing to do with Father, or the General… That belongs to me.

and that’s followed by this:

Penny. The general is making hard choices so we don't have to. For the good of all, not just a few.

in the penultimate moment before winter faces her crossroads, and this:

They won't change my actions. What I'm committed to. The power of the Winter Maiden and the Relic must be kept from our enemies. Even if it means she dies… But yes Penny, we must still acknowledge our personal feelings, wrestle with them. It ensures us that we're on the right path. It's what makes us human.

when she resolves that her feelings do matter and that choosing is what makes people human, seconds before cinder fall enters the scene and forces winter to choose. all this culminates, of course, in “You chose nothing; this was a gift.”

how does the maiden of creation become? she must choose, not once but again and again.

similarly, cinder – aside from the obvious piece that her outward presentation is a carefully manufactured performance – is principally concerned not with choice but creation; the system that created her and the outward self she creates in retaliation. her manifesto in v3:

This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than men. Our academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the grimm can tell the difference. And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment, now this? Huntsmen and huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither.

doesn’t explicitly reference creation, but it’s a precise outline of everything wrong with the system as cinder sees it, and her stage is a symbolic reenactment of what was done to cinder using the violent death of an artificial child – the literal creation of atlas – to drive the point home. this is neither a tragedy nor an accident – i am your creation. i am your consequences come due.

(cinder knows, from salem, that ozpin built these schools, that the huntsmen academies are his creation, and she placed pyrrha onto this stage to represent rhodes – and so there is a grain of truth in “what is ozpin teaching his students?” too. it’s a rhetorical question about the academies as a whole. huntsmen and huntresses should conduct themselves with honor and mercy: why and how did this system produce a man like rhodes?)

and in v5: ozpin corrects ruby from “the fall maiden” to “cinder,” and raven hears ‘cinder fall’ and scoffs that she is “a fall maiden with a surname so appropriate she probably picked it herself” – given her history, it is entirely possible that cinder named herself both cinder AND fall, and the juxtaposition of these beats is interesting – ozpin separating “cinder” from “the fall maiden” vs raven mocking cinder for (she presumes) naming herself for the power she coveted. both, in different ways, imply illegitimacy – that cinder isn’t the rightful fall maiden, that she is a pretender, that her claim on this power is somehow false.

but cinder fall is in fact the fall maiden because she worked very hard to create cinder-fall-the-fall-maiden – from her semblance to dust woven into her clothing to the twofold attack separating and then recombining the magic within herself, which i think may have something more to it than merely trying to eliminate the risk that amber might divert the power to someone else. and then there’s the grimm arm, and this exchange:

RAVEN: Aura can’t protect your arm, it’s grimm. You turned yourself into a monster, just for power. CINDER: Look who’s talking.

juxtaposed with the narrative ambiguity regarding a) how much of a choice cinder had in accepting the grimm arm and b) if she did choose, why? (the presumptive reason is the same as the grimm beetle, but this is complicated by the symbolic role of grimm in cinder’s backstory, her moments of tenderness and identification with grimm, and the fact that she’s been habitually using the grimm arm to siphon aura, not magic.)

choice (and lacking choice) are very central to cinder’s character arc, of course, but why is she the maiden of choice? why did she want to be the maiden of choice? because to cinder this is a project of remaking herself into someone who is safe because she has power. ‘the maiden of choice’ is aspirational – that is who she is creating, and there is an inescapable hollowness to that identity because – say she succeeds – AND THEN WHAT?

she can create as many different versions of herself as she can dream up, but none of them will heal the wounds she’s trying to run away from – what she needs is to look inward and confront what she fears and what she wants, before she can choose who she wants to be. knowledge, then choice. always.

which, gestures at winter. lol. lmao, even.