#weiss just keeps winning this volume

[sunshine-dragon]

I can't be the only one who GASPED when this scene happened.

[invested-in-your-future]

Why do you think RWBY v1-3 worked compared to the rest of it?

Hm.

Honestly a lot of the first three volumes doesn't - the pacing can be awful (and grinds to a halt within arcs dealing with Jaune), the writing decisions leave a lot of to be desired(and are beyond offensive at times).

To say what the first three volumes do well is to talk about what the volumes after dont.

The issue with V4 and onward is simple one:

Too many new redundant characters

I have been hammering on this point again and again - in a weird attempt to expand the world, the showrunners ended up filling it with things that overlap win purpose or outright have no purpose.

Generally if you want to have something happen and want to choose between existing character and new character as initiator, nine times out of ten it's better to go with an existing character.

For example, why did we need Salem's evil council of evil? Why did we need a whole team of villains on Salem's side that essentially fulfill same role and purpose as Cinder's group already did? They don't exactly do anything for the lore or the setting and most of their purpose is one-note - Hazel for example exists just to rage about Ozpin in a poorly executed attempt at making his intentions and role more ambiguous - but there are already plenty of characters who can fill that purpose, so why was Hazel, as a character made? Raven exists, Ironwood exists and is clearly having a crisis, even Haven's headmaster exists (let's say he does) - plenty of ways other characters can fulfill the same purpose as Hazel without Hazel existing. Same extends to the rest of Salem's group - Watts exists solely to "explain" the computer virus (why did we need it explained?) and to have a reason to go against Atlas (but Cinder already has a reason thanks to her backstory in-show???) and Tyrian is the same way.

Too many redundant story beats

The writing attempted to make the setting more complex, but in the end a lot of what's added has no real reason to be there - why do we need Relics when Maidens are already there? Even if we were to go with the same idea of Gods causing doomsday(as dumb as it is) the writing could just as easily have the exact same plotline with collecting Maiden powers, for example. So why have vaults and then relics on top of that?

The Gods are the same way too. Why have Gods at all when you can already comfortably just go with the idea of Salem getting Maidens powers to her side being just as catastrophic? Salem's backstory doesn't even need them - in fact if one were to remove the Gods and keep the backstory the same, the end result would be exact same story. But the show doesn't do that - instead, come V9, it adds ANOTHER layer of gods and magic trees and gives the god brothers a backstory that ALSO wasn't needed and doesn't do ANYTHING in terms of furthering the narrative.

Generally if there's a plot thread you'd want to do the first question to ask would be "Does this change ANYTHING for any of the characters?" - plot is an excuse to get characters through the story beats after all. In the case of God Brothers, the plot thread invents a new problem and then solves it - nothing changes.

Lost Focus

The show is titled RWBY for a reason.

Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang - that's the core of the show.

The show started with the color trailers focusing on them and their journeys. The Volume 3 ended with them each having their own issues to deal with and plot threads tying to those issues.

What do the Volumes that follow do with that set-up? Nothing.

Volume 4 is absolutely pointless in grand scheme of things.

Volume 5 is absolutely pointless in grand scheme of things.

Volume 6 is absolutely pointless in grand scheme of things.

In fact, I wrote about the story structure issues with V4 years ago

The narrative structure, at the basic level, is a game of Connect-the-Dots - you have specific story beats you want to reach that work in accordance with overall story and character outline - it's up for The Plot(tm) to lead the characters from one beat to the other.

The way RWBY works past V3 is by inventing a new problem that didn't and then resolving it, essentially staying in place. I sort of outlined it in the V4 structure chart in my write up in how nothing in that Volume serves any real purpose nor furthers the characters.

What does the mess at Haven Academy contribute to the story story that Beacon already haven't? Does what happen there affect the story going forward? No.

What does team RWBY and the whole absolutely dumb and boring mess with the mech and leviathan do for the story? Are there any lasting consequences from that happening? Nope.

What does the run-in with the Apathy do for the characterization? Are there any lingering psychological effects? Do we learn something new about how Grimm function or how the Eyes work? Are there any lingering implications or any story holes that the encounter slots in into? Absolutely nothing.

That's three big examples in those Volumes where the writing invents a new issue, resolves it and doesn't further characters or narrative by doing so.

In Connect-the-Dots, you don't stop hopping from dot to dot midway-through, you don't hop back and forth between existing dots. Story beats and character beats are beats for a reason - they move things forward, they affect things, they alter things. If you have something that leads the narrative back at the place it was before in then you might as well delete the entire thing.

Now this is not the same as characters being stuck in loops or the idea of repetition as storytelling device - repetition that the narrative is aware of WOULD be a story beat in on itself and this is not that.

In fact even going into Atlas arc - the endgame has almost nothing to do with the build up to it and would happen anyway even if most of the volumes leading to it were removed.

Anticlimactic Payoff

If the narrative is build up to something, the pay off should generally equal to the amount of time and focus spend on the build up (unless it's used as a contrast).

Yet in RWBY a lot of mysteries end up being more of matter-of-fact answers than revelations.

What happened to the moon? Oh something crashed into it.

Why are Ozpin and Salem the way they are? Gods did it.

Why is Raven angry at Ozpin? He...turned her into a bird?

What has been Raven up to? Nothing.

Is Ozpin shady or not? Eh, not really - he's just sort of there.

What's up with the creatures of Grimm? Gods did it.

All of these were teased and built up going forward and the actual revelations never justified the build up or teasing that came before.

None of those revelations did anything to further the narrative or develop characters.

It was as if the writers were going through a checklist of what needs to be revealed.

So, What about the first three Volumes?

Now, flip everything I wrote about V4 and onward upside down.

That's the first three Volumes.

The only characters that exist are the ones that have an use within the narrative.

The plot threads are revealed when they become relevant - Mt.Glenn comes up when it matters, for example. If anything there's not enough reveals.

One can easily trace the plot threads through the story - how Ruby's introduction to Beacon affects her dynamics with Weiss, how Jaune's and Ruby's struggles with unexpected positions of leadership affect the team formation, how the friction within the teams furthers the plot to crash into villains goals. And what's more - each mini-arc ties to the four leads and their characterization. Things don't just happen - each storyline starts with the character and ends with characters growing or their relationships changing.

The Payoff is extremely good - V3 takes every single thing the show did through the three volumes and makes use of it. Everything matters - Mt. Glenn exposition, Roman, WF stuff, Jaune's insecurities, Pyrrha's characterization, Yang's characterization, Blake's conflict, Ruby's growth and position int he story, Weiss growth, etc - everything gets used and everything affects the characters involved.

For all the flaws, for all the absolutely insensitive story decisions and bad jokes - the first three volumes manage to handle those key points well and the end result is far more enjoyable.

The volumes after don't.

While good action sequences helped one of many reasons I hold V1 through V3 dear to my heart is because the show pulled off something that was quite rare back then when those Volumes aired - delivering actual consequences and not being afraid of upsetting the status quo within the story.

[chaikachi]

Rosegarden, Cinderella, and Fairytale Romance

0r Why I Will Eat My Glass Slipper if Oscar and Ruby Don't Dance by the End of the Show

-

Part of Ruby's arc in v9 is realizing that the ideals and dreams she had as a (younger) child are too ambitious and unrealistic. That life, huntresses, herself… they can't be like the fairytales.

It is a very big lesson to learn but, much like all things in RWBY, there is a push for nuance. Weiss and Blake even have called out in show that those storybook morals are too simplistic or black and white. Ruby is overwhelmed and breaking under the weight of her burdens and is being given the opportunity to either keep trudging on until it destroys her, or leave all of it behind.

But what about a secret hidden third option? Can she not leave Ruby Rose behind, not become someone entirely new, but rather… Choose to be the version of Ruby Rose she wants to be on purpose? And not as a result of other people's pressures or expectations that she's internalized for too long?

The point I'm trying to make here is that she can admit that holding herself to the impossible standard of an untouchable hero that always wins in the end isn't sustainable, but still find the intersection of fairytale and reality.

Now how does this tie in to RG? For that, I want to talk about two things:

The other canon romance plots in show

One of Ruby's smaller/more subtle 'allusions'

Of the three other big relationships in the show, each one's confession seems to fall into a very specific 'theme' (I understand I am generalizing/simplifying a bit but bare with me):

Arkos is rooted in tragedy: Pyrrha's death

2. Renora is rooted in reality: A two volume long conflict that ends in them acknowledging their feelings, talking it out, and agreeing to be patient with each other.

3. Bumbleby is rooted in a literal fairytale: A pocket dimension created specifically in the Ever After to push them into smooching (and y'know... confessing)

Rosegarden is currently in the tragedy stage. Constant separation over and over again leading up to Oscar being left in Remnant thinking she's dead and Ruby stuck in the Ever After not knowing how much time is passing back home and if he'll even be there when she gets back.

Reality we've seen for them a lot in how down to earth they are with each other. The constant quiet support. Oscar seeing past the pedestal, past the ideal, straight through to Ruby. Ruby seeing past the merge and seeing him fully as just Oscar.

But how do we tie the fairytale into it when Oscar isn't in Ever After to give them that storybook magic? Well, we go back to the earlier mentioned subtle allusion for Ruby: Cinderella.

NOW I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING. "But Chai!! We already have a very clear allusion to that character!!!"

Okay yes, but Ruby is a mirror to Cinder. We've seen it in their arcs as primary antagonists to each other, we've seen it in their costume designs with the parting of their hair and similar colour schemes. Cinder Fall, Ruby Rose (as in to rise). They are two sides of one coin.

Back at the dance in v2, Ruby arrives and is left alone by her friends. She isn't wearing glass slippers, but there is a whole lot of focus on how uncomfortable her shoes are.

She leaves the dance early after not having fun and runs into Cinder. And when the clock strikes midnight and the spell is broken? Cinder is at the dance in her pretty dress with Mercury and Ruby is back in the tower getting one of, if not the first big reality check(s) of the series.

This situation is teased by Oz in the episode prior with his little conversation with Ruby:

Ozpin: Not enjoying yourself? Ruby: Oh, no aha, everything's fine. I'm just not much of a... dance-y pantsy... dance-y girl. Ozpin: Well you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield, even if you may want to. Ruby: Yeah that lesson's been floating around a lot lately. Ozpin: If you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different. Two partners interlocked. Heh, although one wrong room on the ballroom merely leads to a swollen foot. Ruby:Or a twisted ankle Ozpin: It's not every day that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds. But it's nights like these that can help keep them stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget.

He teases that the dance is special. That Ruby should get to enjoy it because life has a funny way of creeping up quickly on these things. That these moments are rare and should be treasured... and he's proven right almost immediately.

Every other person in the cast got a dance - or something close to it - that night. Blake and Yang. Blake and Sun. Weiss lost her date 'cause Neptune's a goof, but they still got to sit down and talk. Jaune and Pyrrha had a moment on the balcony before he went to grab a dress and they all danced together. Ren and Nora. Penny even danced with one of her guards. Glynda and Ironwood too!!

But our hero didn't get one. All she got was a fight.

And see, this is where I think the 'fairytale' comes in. Ruby's had her reality check. Time and time and time again that fairytale spell has been broken. She is going through a metamorphosis throughout v9 to become a newly actualized version of herself, or at least find the start of the path that brings her there. But when she returns to Remnant what is waiting for her? More war. More fighting. More responsibility as being this symbol of hope and a leader for everyone. But part of her arc is learning to share her burdens with others. And the person that has consistently tried to do that with her without her asking for it, has been Oscar. Oscar, who is currently in Vacuo with who knows how much time passing wrestling with the knowledge that Ruby, the rest of her team, and Jaune are very likely dead. Oscar, who is now bearing the weight of this world saving mission without her there.

All I'm trying to say is that a celebration of sorts with a redemption dance, quite possibly in Vacuo, isn't entirely off the table. In fact I'd argue it's been teased since the very start, especially considering just how often they are posed as if they are asking each other to dance.

Also to go back to something Ozpin said "fighting and dancing aren't so different"... One of Oscar and Ruby's first scenes together, they are sparring in front of a sunset and they can't stop smiling at each other. They're just having so much fun with it.

Also their premiere moments in volumes 6, 7, and 9 are all RG in a fight of some kind. The first two Ruby is saving him from Grimm. The latter Ruby is being attacked by Neo's illusion of him. In volume 8, we don't get that. But we do get these two moments which also count for something (especially because dances and hugs are also quite similar in some ways):

There are going to be very high emotions when RWBYJ return to Remnant and what better way to celebrate that they are still alive than a party (and if not then, then after the war is over... but hopefully not THAT long). Where they can just 'dance and laugh and love… and just live'. Even for just a moment because who knows what the next will bring.

Ruby in v2 wasn't really a dance-y pantsy kind of girl... but post-v9 Ruby? She gets to choose the kind of girl she wants to be. Just the knight? Or maybe the princess too, even just for on day. And I think if anyone is going to offer her a chance to try it out, it's going to be her Little Prince.

-

I love these normal kids with their very normal knees a very normal amount. I love how their respective 'specialness' makes them the perfect match for each other because it means they can be 'normal' together. That is all ty for listening. RG canon okay byeeeeee~

[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 :/

[howlingday]

I just realized: If we look at all three arcs, the heroes only got one solid win. The first arc ends with the Fall of Beacon. The Second arc had them win. The Third arc ended with the Fall of Atlas and Mantle. I would like to think the Vacuo Arc would have ended in a win, but I'm not sure.

Alright, let's break it down, Volume by Volume, big fight by big fight.

Volume 1: Emerald Forest, Jaundice, Dock Fight

Three wins and plenty of room to grow.

Volume 2: Paladin Fight, Beacon Dance, Mountain Glenn

Win with collateral damage (that everybody was pissed about), one loss for the good guys with the data stolen by a disguised Cinder Fall, and one win for everybody at Beacon Academy, this time with somehow more and less collateral damage? I guess it was more contained than entire highways and bridges being damaged.

Volume 3: Vytal Tournament, Battle OfBeacon

Oh boy... This is where the losses start to stack... RWBY and JNPR made into the finals, but... Well, by the end, Penny and Pyrrha died, Team RWBY got separated, Yang lost an arm, and Beacon Academy and the CCT network was disabled. This coming from a previous volume where there was a joke about Ruby getting words wrong.

Volume 4: Volume 4...

This is the point where we learn the dynamic of RWBY Volumes, which is with the flow of seasons. Volume 1 was spring fresh with new beginnings, Volume 2 was action-packed summer adventures, and Volume 3 was drastic and horrible changes like the leaves in autumn, leading us to Volume 4, which hit us non-stop with L after L after L. Yangst, Weiss being abused, Blake having her kitty pity party, and Team RNJR (IT'S JNRR) having to survive Tyrian Callows, the Nuckelavee, and the harsh reality of being huntsmen and huntresses... Oh, and also the Brother gods are real.

Volume 5: Battle for Haven, Menagerie

By the end of Volume 5, everything starts looking up. The White Fang disbands after failing to assassinate the Belladonnas, Ruby and her friends manage to fend off Cinder's group, the good guys learn new abilities and limitations, and Cinder gets dropped off a cliff by Raven. Overall, a good Volume. A couple losses, but still a lot more wins.

Volume 6: Knock, knock! Who's there? It's REALITY!

And... it's gone. The wins. They're gone. Sure, we end this Volume with Adam's death and Ruby's group escaping to Atlas, but... this was also when RWBY stopped looking like young heroes and more like trouble-maker teens with good intentions doing more harm than good. And they don't get any punishment, really. Not to mention that we also learn the truth about Salem and Ozpin. Not many Ls, but only because they're still cooking.

Volume 7: You lost, but you won, but you still lost

Starting off, we have Team RWBY and group getting captured by the Ace-Ops, serving as a sort of marker for where they'll by Volume end. Until then, we have Team RWBY failing to stop a public massacre, a rigged election, and end with martial law being established over all of Atlas. But hey, at least we stopped Jacques Schnee, got out licenses to kill, and some sick-ass upgrades to our old gear!

Volume 8: I want off General Ironwood's Wild Martial Law

OKAY! So we start off with Penny being pressured to do something she doesn't want to and NOBODY is talking about it like adults. Even fucking General Ironwood isn't backing down. But then again, he's probably still riding the high of shooting a child and suffering from the low that it wasn't a kill shot. But yeah, this entire Volume was just low after low after low after LOW. There is no positive to this Volume. No Ws for anyone. Now get back on the bus. It's time to go to Saturday detention.

Volume 9: Guide~! My~! Way~! Out~! I'm what inspired the fairy tales~...

Real talk. You listening? Okay... I will say that V9 isn't the best Volume. Compared to V2 or V5, it's barely squeezing in at third. However, THIS is my absolute favorite Volume. In terms of Ls and Ws, there's definitely a couple Ls, biggest of all to Ruby, but she also gets the biggest W of the entire Volume. V9 has the best moments, the best music, and even the best villain of the entire series, even if they weren't even main antag level. Everything about Volume 9 served it's purpose as a spring chapter. It's coming out of the cold winter and into the new beginnings of spring.

That said, I understand that this being said AFTER RT already announced their shutdown, but I think the show says it best. Never lose hope, keep moving forward, and remember that victory is in the simple soul.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

[selfrinsert]

💤 + weiss? 👁👁

THE PINING BEGINS HEHE

Timeline: Volume 7, Episode 5

Ris threw up another shield, just in time as Weiss’ knight summon brought its sword down on it. The yellow color shield shimmered and cracked, and Ris somersaulted out of the way before it could shatter on top of them. 

They were out of color energy, they could feel it, but between Weiss darting in with her rapier and her summon swinging around its sword, they didn’t have time to absorb more. 

Ris steeled themself, angling their broadsword to protect their torso. They *had* to get rid of that summon! They loosened up, stepping around, doing a pretty damn good job of dodging and blocking, Weiss’ sword clanging off of their own. They spotted their opportunity as the summon stepped forward, and swung their weapon in a powerful, wide arc. Once the knight’s leg buckled and began to disappear, they plunged their sword upwards into its chest, the momentum of it falling making the blow even more effective. 

“Hah!” Ris panted triumphantly as the knight turned to glittering dust around them. They spun, ready to end this duel, ready to *win,* but felt their feet go out from under them, and were swiftly met with the tip of Weiss’ rapier at their throat. She smirked down at them, tilting her head ever so slightly. 

They stared at each other in a brief stalemate, before Ris rolled their eyes, propping themself up on their elbows. “Alright, alright, you win.”

“Hah!” Weiss taunted with her hands on her hips, before straightening up and sheathing her rapier. “I told you I could beat you.” She offered Ris a hand. 

Two years ago, Ris would’ve scoffed and denied. But today, they smiled and took it, allowing the ex-heiress to help pull them to their feet. “Right, right…what is that, 5 to 1?” they grinned.

“3 to 1, at best! And it won’t be long until I’ve caught up to you.” Weiss folded her arms. She was so easy to rile up, and Ris had to admit they enjoyed it just a little bit. 

“Oh, we’ll see about that,” they checked their scroll, 10 o’ clock already? “Yeesh, it’s late.”

“How did the time go by so fast?” Weiss said, also pulling out her scroll. 

Penny and the rest of team RWBY *had* left the Atlas training room awhile ago. Ris pocketed their scroll, shifting their weight from one foot to the other. They watched Weiss check her messages, tucking a bit of white hair behind her ear. They were suddenly…nervous, being alone with her. Not at all a bad feeling, but their stomach doing somersaults couldn’t be a good thing. Right?

“How about…” Ris bit their tongue, but pressed forward, “how about I walk you back to your room?” They thought she would’ve scoffed, said she could handle herself just fine, but instead she smiled.

“Thank you.”

The two walked in silence, Weiss’ hand resting on the hilt of her sword, Ris’ hands held behind their head. 

“You’re a pretty good sparring partner, you know.” Ris blurted out. “I mean, I know you said you haven’t had the best track record one on one, but you’ve got a lot of tricks up your sleeve. Keeps me on my toes.”

Weiss laughed, “Well, you’ve been pretty good practice. I think I’ve learned how to keep a single target occupied now, so they can’t deal as much damage to me.”

They arrived at team RWBY’s door, all too soon. 

“Uh, have a good night,” Ris waved, unable to wipe the goofy smile off their face. 

Weiss brought a hand up to her mouth, stifling a giggle. “Sleep well, Ris.”

“You too,” Ris called before Weiss shut the door. 

*Agh, dummy! You were too earnest!* Ris pressed their palms to their eyes.

They lay awake in their bed, the sight of Weiss tucking her hair behind her ear playing in their head over and over. 

________

Weiss hardly noticed, but she was smiling at the floor, and let out a contented sigh after the door closed behind her. 

“Well, well, well!” Ruby grinned, chin in her hands as she lay on the top bunk. 

Blake and Yang had matching grins, the former propped up in bed with a book and the latter brushing her teeth. 

“Late night with Ris, huh?” Yang teased. 

“Wha-” Weiss looked up, immediately flushed, “Not like that! We just lost track of time sparring, that’s all.”

“Suuure,” Ruby giggled. Blake laughed, holding her book up so only her eyes were showing.

“I- I can’t believe you three!” All ganging up on her like that! “Me? And Ris? You’ve *got* to be joking,” Weiss tossed her head, striding to the bathroom. 

Yang just smiled, shook her head, and put her toothbrush away, joining the other two in the room. 

Weiss stared at herself in the mirror for a moment. Her and Ris?

No, she doubted Ris felt the same sort of butterflies…and besides, she had other things to worry about. 

[allthejoeks]

RWBY Chibi-esque antics I want out of Volume 10:

Ren, Nora, and Oscar having to navigate the emotions of 'Holy shit, our leader is back and alive, which is so great, but now he has even more trauma so we need to be extra good to him.' with the fact that he's now planning their daily schedules down to the minute and they need it to stop.

As RWBY's doing the rounds of introductions to all the important people, since they're the face of this whole thing, Yang introduces Ruby as 'our homophobic leader' every time.

Finally, they meet the Belladonnas, and Ruby just WON'T stop with horrifying and embarrassing stories. At one point, Yang drags her into another room, begging her to cut it out, and Ruby shrugs her shoulders. "I dunno, Yang, seems like it'd be out of character for a homophobe like me to let this go smoothly."

While the sisters are having an increasingly loud brawl in the other room. Blake's having an actual heartfelt conversation with her parents. Her dad admits that Yang still has made a better first impression that Sun did. A chair flies through the wall. "Barely."

Bumbleby showing off to the rest of their friends, we get ecstatic Nora, so on and so on, and Illia cracks an innocent joke about how she's cool with it only if she gets to be Blake's maid of honor, and Weiss, slightly less innocently and much less jokingly says, 'Obviously I'M going to be Blake's maid of honor." Which begins a season-long running gag of them trying to out-friend each other. Usually Illia wins these bouts because as everyone discovers, the magic words to make Weiss go away are 'Ruby seems lonely today, don't you think?'

A complete reversal of White Rose's dynamic. Ruby's trying to do important leader stuff a lot of the time, so Weiss (still a bit nervous from V9 Ruby) is trying to be the nonsensical bubbly one to take her mind off things. "Ruby, paperwork is such a drag, right? How about we *checks her Scroll* go... skiing with friends?" "In Vacuo." "We've done stranger!"

The Schnees, still trying to wriggle their way out of dysfunction junction, start thinking of Ruby as some sort of guru. Winter's partially jealous that Ruby's getting all of Weiss' attention, and they all wish to learn her secrets to having healthy family dynamics. She gets invited to dinner with them a lot. It is rarely fun.

Eventually Qrow starts inviting himself too just to piss off Winter, but he unironically hits it off with Willow as they bond over being recovering alcoholics and trying to be better family people. Which leads Winter into going absolutely insane trying to ensure that Qrow isn't sleeping with her mom.

There's a side plot the entire season where RWBY is trying to convince a local crime lord with a dedicated and loyal crime family to ally with them instead of Tyrian, and she's more than happy to, being dead is bad for business after all, but for some inexplicable reason Ruby just pisses her off, and the two remain cagey the entire season. Eventually, after Bonding(TM), she admits she loves lacey and colorful things, but it's just a little too girly for Vacuo's underground, and Ruby, finally connecting the dots, weakly suggests, "What about a parasol? Nothing wrong with keeping the sun off you." and the crime lord does a total 180, happy to work with Ruby and her great ideas while Ruby has a crisis of faith.

[powertaco]

Vol 9 Spoiler Rant (aka I have waited and thought on it and still dont’ like it/Ranting ahead

I hate Volume 9

I’ll start by saying that upfront so you aren’t shocked or surprised by a conclusion later down the line, and can leave if the notion of disliking it offends you.

I don’t doubt I’ll get many blocks or people who disagree with this take, which is fair since I’m putting the opinion out there and should be able to take it on the chin or stand by it. 

This will contain spoilers for V9, my thoughts on a lot of things, ships, and what not so if you want to turn back now the back button is over yonder.

If it’s disjointed I apologize but I’m not feeling my best, and the longer I think about it the more I dislike it and I’m sick of pretending and being toxically positive about it.

First off I’ll get a few things out of the way as things I approve of. 

The animation has largely grown phenomenally. There’s a few moments that are a little out of it (yo why you got a 3 foot neck Weiss?), but for the most part considering where we came from in the bass on the wall days of Volume 1. Big win here. 

The music. Good work Casey. Red Like Roses 3 is a banger, inside is great, and checkmate is…something. Overall good stuff. 

VA work. Good deal. Rob nails his ‘surprise’ villain as he always nails his roles but people seem to be putting their all into it. No hate here, and these guys clearly brought their A game. Good work!

This volume as a whole is very middling to me, bordering on bad depending on if or how V10 recontextualizes things that happened, which I will try to go into later. 

Essentially if you were a big fan of Bees this might be one of your favorites, but if you’re just kinda neutral to them like me then the volume didn’t have a lot to offer you and didn’t do much to really move the story forward.

Remember when Ambro said don’t fall in V8 like it was a big ominous thing, and remember how it ended up being almost entirely beneficial? Yeah so V9 was like that. Setting up stuff for an instant week to week payoff regardless of if it hurt the story or not cause we need that interest spiked to greenlight V10. 

For a Volume that took so long to make the entire thing is remarkably rushed. 

Why do Ruby and Weiss talk so little? Serious question. Even if you don’t ship them they’re supposed to be canon best friends, and yet they share almost as many lines together in the last few seasons as they do with Ren. In case you were wondering that’s not many. 

We had a reduced cast of characters and almost none of them can actually be bothered to interact meaningfully.

Why does Weiss and everyone keep ditching Ruby except Little? Ruby has a basically perfect assassin after her, and in the market everyone ditches her cause of nose hairs. 

But what can they do against Neo? Nothing, but they could maybe point her out, or talk and help distract her rather than leaving her to her own devices when she’s clearly not feeling well. 

Sometimes having someone there for you can help a lot, but instead we need to have Weiss backslide and the others abandon her so she can be alone to meet the smith. 

This is bad writing. I’m sorry but it is. Had this been Volume 1-3 Weiss? Sure I could buy this, but this is not that Weiss. If you need to have Ruby be alone to meet the smith, work harder. You had years for this. This would have gotten a C at best in a writing class with a see me after class/don’t keep using coincidences like this note attached to it. 

If you’re going to tell me I’m not a professional writer so I can’t critique then that’s asinine. I don’t drive trucks for a living but if I see one ramp off a cliff and into a pit I can tell you that, that guy/gal has messed up.

If Weiss wanted to help cheer on or try to get Bees together then that’s an even worse reason as the aforementioned ASSASSIN is after her partner.

“Oh but Neo wouldn’t attack in a busy market!” My guy do you know Neo “i live only to murder this woman’ AT ALL? There’s an amusing quote I can ascribe to her actions “i will kill as many people as I have to as long as you are one of them!” 

There was a reason the meme, ‘squads that would treat Ruby better’ was going around through volume 9 and even included pictures of villains. 

Blake and Ruby never talk outside of that one scene in V8, and Yang has focused way more on Blake and way less on being a sister. 

I’ve seen people defend her actions as being a target for her sister’s actions when she steps in front of Blake, but please note Yang just let her yell at Weiss and did nothing, until she starts yelling at Blake. 

Yeah, no I’m sorry she lets her have a go at Weiss and then when her girlfriend is getting her feefees hurt then she steps in. Her talking to her sister after the hound was nice (but again prob would have been a decent Weiss moment)

That’s bullshit. Had Yang stepped in or tried to when she was talking to Weiss then I could buy this, but as is it’s just another thing to hold against her. 

The bees eat a lot of screentime. If you’re a bee fan this is great. If you want story progression, this is not. 

The world bends and revolves around them very literally. We need to have a confession bridge show up so they can confess but we can’t get a ‘you have to talk about what’s bothering you’ camp you can’t leave until you talk things out for Ruby?

What are the rules of ever after? Basically w/e so the only reason Ruby can’t get that is cause well we want a breakdown. Again great writing. 

But let’s talk about it. Ruby has a breakdown. She complains there’s no time for her. It’s tragic because she’s put a lot of stuff on her own shoulders and internalized it. 

Good acting here, even from Jaune. 

Weiss puts out a hand and she flies away. 

When our heroes next see her she’s drank suicide tea. You can claim after the fact that ascension isn’t that (but i’m sorry that’s how it’s framed and the whole zooming into Yang’s eye thing is explicitly treated like it’s meant to be a big deal and get people talking)

Tragic truly, but you know what she believes in herself now, and now she’s all better. Her depression and desire to die are gone. I don’t know how it helps with Salem, as I’d be willing to bet Summer also believed in herself but it didn’t seem to help her much. If they go more into this in V10 I will retract this and accept it but I’m not in the mood to be forgiving to them atm.

Also again right after Ruby ‘kills’ herself they stop to help Jaune…just I’m sorry what?

Jaune still takes up too much time and serves a role that’s almost not needed and I don’t even hate or dislike him. His interesting development is stripped away at the end. 

By deaging Jaune now they can’t explain where they were with any real proof. A few scroll pics of a weird cat thing isn’t going to cut it. 

He has a few gray stripes and will likely go back to acting like he normally does and other than Nora ragging him about them once or twice will likely not be mentioned again. He may on occasion get to say something ‘wise’ but I’m doubting it since he went back to being the same almost right away. 

So rather than an aged, mature, and slightly damaged man going back and having to relate to his friends/people he knew he’s the same. Awesome development. 

Plus side is that now that deaging is canon DWR can still win! Anyway he takes entirely too much focus away. 

Ruby complains about how they have no time cause they have to help Jaune, and what do they do almost instantly after she ‘kills’ herself? Stop and help Jaune. It’s tonal whiplash. 

I get that JNPR are supposed to be deuteragonist but holy hell almost all the time goes to Jaune who is by far the least interesting of the bunch imo even with all the time dumped into him. 

Can we get more Ren and Nora? This could have been a good way for Nora to ‘learn’ who she is without Ren. 

If Nora had fallen(say off her hammer into the void at the start from Cinder during the scuffle with Penny in the air) and they met a wizened Nora who tried to act chipper but was clearly putting up a front it would be a great foil/combo with Ruby. 

It would also make her reuniting with Ren and being ready for a relationship in the next volume all the sweeter. 

We spend an episode on the red prince. Neat. You know what would have been better for it? Almost anything else, say perhaps after Ruby’s ‘suicide’ they spend a few frantic minutes trying to get to the tree until they see the reincarnated paper pleasers and then are like oh, ok so she’ll prob come back/be alright instead of just ‘we did what we can’. 

Girl I love you Weiss but you all did jack shit. You made one half hearted effort and stopped, and then every time Ruby might have gotten to talk they needed to help Jaune or something interrupted. 

Good work being the best partner ever by the way especially when Ruby spends a large portion of the volume helping you with all your problems and rushing to your side without a bit of hesitation and in return you muster up…about nothing. 

They did it in genlock and did it twice in this volume and arguably with Penny/Vine last volume. “Suicide is great!” Please stop doing this. 

Speaking of Penny if you like her you might want to get CRWBY to be pallbearers at your funeral so they can let you down one last time. 

If you liked Nuts’ and Dolts even more condolences. They’d have many chances to imply deeper feelings than friendship between them and take none of them. Her farewell song is called Friend where she talks about being friends with Ruby. 

During the fight with her clones, the Penny clone never once says she loves her. This is Neo, mouse killer and person with the largest hateboner for Ruby in the show. 

She is twisting the knife as much as she can so you can bet if she thought there was even an inkling there was more than friendly feelings between them she’d have had the clone say she loved her just to do that little bit more mental damage, but she didn’t. 

If there was ever a time to bring it up to put her off balance it was now. Neo is under no pressure and has no reason to not do so, so it basically sinks the ship. Well more than her being dead already does. 

I swear to god if they go to Vacuo and Pietro is in a coma or dead and there’s a new Penny I’m going to call Akira Toriyama and tell him RWBY is aping Dragon Ball because there’s no stakes in life or death anymore. 

Oh right, speaking of Neo she’s pretty ok until the end where she decides she’s cool with Ruby, gets to get the kill on the cat and then just bows out and leaves, and everyone is…strangely cool with that. 

Ascension or not I’m just struggling to think that any of them should just want her to essentially get away scot free. This woman tried to kill Ruby or get her to commit suicide and killed Little and we’re cool with letting her go because she killed the cat who was no longer a threat to them and did a hat doff? Um…yeah sure. I bet Yang is ok with people almost killing her sister, Weiss her best friend, etc. Then again maybe these versions of the characters are. 

I don’t care much about how ascension will change her; she's paid for nothing she’s done. “Get your revenge and you’ll get it and still get away scoTt free’. Ok last of us two. 

I can not overstate how pointless the suicide feels. 

It feels like they wanted her to do it, but have it not ‘take’ or have consequences because they’re in ever after and can say ‘hey the ascension thing fixes it’. 

Look, I'm glad the bees got together. Really I’m happy for you, but if you take out the Bee stuff, and the pining you’re left with a threadbare story that is only barely there since it’s all resolved in about five minutes. 

We all deserve better than that. The characters deserve better than that. 

I could keep going as this just scratches the surface level but it’s pissing me off to keep thinking about it. 

[penny-weiss]

RWBY Parallels V5, V8, and V9

Ruby’s hand-to-hand combat.

V5E3: Ozpin, “Getting you four in fighting shape… (points to Ruby) You can only fight so long as you have Crescent Rose, but you’re still lacking in hand-to-hand combat.”

V8E14: Ruby loses Crescent Rose. While she had some coaching from Ozpin in volume 5 and tries to engage in hand-to-hand combat against Neo in volume 8, it’s clear she heavily relied upon her weapon. I expect in volume 9, we will start to see her branch out of her comfort zone to other styles of combat. I hope Yang is going to coach her a bit more in the art of hand-to-hand.

Ruby is purity.

V5E5: Blake, “Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself, ‘They are the personification of this word’? …I remember getting to know Ruby and thinking, ‘This girl is the embodiment of purity.’ After a while, I saw Weiss was defiance. And Yang was strength.”

V9: The quote from season 5 about Ruby being purity reminded me of the poem Child of the pure unclouded brow from Alice in Wonderland that speaks of losing one’s sunny face and silver laughter. Ruby's purity and silver eyes may be why she is tied to the weather in this version of Wonderland. The last stanza of the poem especially stood out to me. 

And though the shadow of a sigh May tremble through the story, For ‘happy summer days’ gone by, And vanish’d summer glory – It shall not touch with breath of bale The pleasance of our fairy-tale.

How do you handle all of this?

V5E5: 

Oscar to Ruby, “How do you handle all of this? …How can you be so confident? People have tried to kill you. The world’s about to go to war all over again. How are you okay with any of this?”

Ruby to Oscar, “When Beacon fell, I lost two of my friends: Penny Pollendina and Pyrrha Nickos. I didn’t know them for very long but that doesn’t change the fact they were two of the most kind-hearted people I’d ever met. But that didn’t save them. Pyrrha thought if there was even the smallest chance of helping someone that it was a chance worth taking, and because of that, she died fighting a battle she knew she couldn’t win. And Penny was killed just to make a statement… I am scared but not just for me. What happened at Beacon shows Salem doesn’t care if you’re standing against her or not. She’ll kill anybody, and that scares me most of all. Pyrrha, Penny, I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t hurt, that I didn’t think about them every day since I lost them, that I didn’t wish I had spent more time with them. If it had been me instead, I know they would have kept fighting too, no matter how dangerous it was. So that’s what I choose to do: to keep moving forward."

V8E14: Penny is still fighting even after Ruby and Blake fell. 

V9 Intro: While Ruby could still keep a positive outlook in Volume 5 after the initial loss of Penny, I can't imagine Ruby keeping the same outlook in Volume 9 after round 2 of losing Penny.

Think back to Beacon

V5E7: Ren, “That desire to go back and tell yourself not to be so stupid. That just proves you’re not the person you used to be. You’re smarter or kinder or stronger, and you’re not done growing yet.”

V9 Trailer: “What are you going to be?”

In Alice in Wonderland, Alice says, "Mabel, I’ll stay down here! It’ll be no use they're putting their heads down and saying ‘Come up again, dear!’ I shall only look up and say ‘Who am I then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being that person, I’ll come up: if not, I’ll stay down here till I’m somebody else’—but, oh dear!” cried Alice, with a sudden burst of tears, “I do wish they would put their heads down! I am so very tired of being all alone here!”

I think Ruby's younger self speaking to her older self is meant to mirror the conversations Alice has about who she is and who she will become.

If Ruby sticks around…

V5E7: Yang, “If Ruby sticks around, then I will too. If there’s one thing I know about her, it’s that she somehow always knows the right thing to do.”

V9 Trailer: Unknown voice (though it sounded similar to Salem to me), “You never were the hero... You seem to be carrying a rather large burden with you. What if you could leave Ruby Rose behind, shed like an old coat? What might happen if you don’t?"

Will the team have to face this question? What growth will Ruby have to go through to keep fighting and to continue being a leader?

I'm still rewatching the other seasons, but I found some of these moments interesting to compare, and I am excited to see Ruby's growth especially!

[yangxiaolongprotectionsquad]

Some stand out things to me that were DEFINITELY overshadowed by the most tender, soul-restoring, gorgeous, stunning confession to ever be conceived and executed, in no particular order:

1. I know some ppl are unhappy abt Weiss being down bad for Jaune now but I personally think it’s fucking HILARIOUS and the way RBY were all 🤨 was amazing. Jaune fr looks good…. “MATURE” LMFAOOO Weiss really put on her clown shoes and I love her for that

2. I don’t think anyone thought Alyx’s story was going to be totally accurate but DAMN. Writing her kind brother out of the story entirely, sacrificing him to return to Remnant, poisoning Jaune? What a twist.

It shines an entirely new light on her interactions with those in the Ever After. The Crimson King ascended into a colossal shithead because of how she beat him—no wonder he resents humans so much. I think it’s likely that she cheated to win, so when he came back it was with a vengeance. I wonder at how she and Louis were raised to become opposites?

3. The Curious Cat is basically Ozpin. A helpful if eccentric guide at first, that eventually is forced to confront a painful reality. What really makes the connection stand out is how the Cat deflects by saying things like, “You never asked,” regarding the brother. They both technically don’t lie outright but they do withhold crucial information that would change how the others would perceive them and the world.

I fucking LOVE the parallels man. The nail in the coffin was when the Curious Cat left after admitting Alyx played them. I’m certain the cat will return in some way or another, like Ozpin.

4. Ruby. Oh dear, Ruby. She’s been lost ever since she fell. Literally of course, but mentally, too. She doesn’t know her purpose, her role, her reason to keep going when Salem is out there with two relics and the situation appears hopeless. Volume 8 was a massive pill to swallow, and her plan failing has had horrible consequences. She’s at a crossroad, (lol), because she needs to be a leader.

She can’t doubt herself, she can’t fail, she has everyone relying on her and that burden has never been heavier than it is right now. It’s crushing her, so she’s trying to lighten that load by erasing pieces of herself. Ruby gave away her emblem. Penny’s sword.

Her beloved Crescent Rose, a PART of her, at least symbolically, being given back to her by Jaune, offers ZERO reassurance. Worse still, just looking at it fills her with dread. It’s a symbol of every burden she’s shouldered and every battle she’s fought.

Jaune returning Crescent Rose is akin to him saying, “We need to keep going, to keep fighting.”

And Ruby Rose, the optimistic hero and legend straight out of a fairy tale, wishes she could just disappear.

SO YEAH. That’s my incoherent analysis. I think volume 9 has already become my favourite, and EDDY RIVAS. It cannot be said enough how amazing the script was. Truly. The animators went ballistic. The concept and background designers? They served us a 5 star meal. Miles is SLAYING as an older Jaune, who is both familiar and yet distinctly different. Lindsey, Kara, Arryn, and Barb continue to give us incredible performances.

HOW COULD I NOT MENTION CASEY AND MARTIN??? Banger after certified banger. Give me the album.

Thank you, CRWBY. For everything. I knew you’d deliver but you’ve outdone yourselves. That’s all I can say for now, but I’ve deadass had a smile glued on my face since I watched the ep, and you should know that.

[tumblingxelian]

CRWBY's efforts to explore ideals of toxic masculinity and heroism through Jaune's character development are some of their most ambitious but also most troubled efforts I think. To see what I mean lets break this down by volume:

V1/3: This was messy as each volume seemed more insular in its handling of the topic.

V1, would have been fine if Jaune had learned he got help from Pyrrha and accepted it gratefully. But instead he's allowed to think he defeated the Ursa all on his own even though she outright saved his life cos he was ignoring Glynda's advice by neglecting his aura and defense. So it feels like only after he got a confidence boost was he willing to ask for help. The set up was there but not the execution

V2, just doesn't work with me cos I find his constant pestering of Weiss to be obnoxious at best & the fact he was the 'good guy' in that scenario and Weiss is forced to reconsider her views on him just rankles. Plus his annoyance with Pyrrha taking command when he wasn't doing so & swinging wildly with his sword to win don't really work. The dress scene isn't bad inherently, but I find the reliance on "I have sisters" and such to make it more muted. Especially as the gesture itself is kind of eh on its handling of gender presentation, but then this was like 2014.

V3 was good in that it was a tragic slap in the face to everything he was trying to do right. He was supportive, encouraging, he listened and was fine with stepping back to let Pyrrha be the face of the team. He was becoming the kind of person worthy of his position. Then Pyrrha shows a lack of faith in him (From his perspective) and he's left helpless as she dies, setting up the next stage

V4/6 This is much tidier and it all flows together much better.

Jaune forgoes defense in favor of offense with his giant and largely useless super sword. He falls back on anger and lashing out to cope with his grief. He outright has a death wish which only serves to endanger himself & others while gaining them nothing.

He is generally falling into a really unhealthy mindset but is guided through it, begins adopting a more supportive role and comes out with a solid resolution. The main struggle with this is was it isn't obvious that was the plan until V6/7, so in the interim it could be quite frustrating in places. V7/9 In the first two of these volumes Jaune is at his peak.

He's not prideful but quite humble, fine with taking escort missions with kids and doing a good job at it. He's empathic and supportive, trying to encourage his friends and not responding in anger when they are upset. Plus he keeps a good handle on his temper & has really embraced his role as someone who provides support and healing over raw power.

Which makes his inability to help Penny all the more tragic. & his utter degradation in V9 all the more poignant and powerful, especially as so much of it is at least partially self inflicted by refusing to move & trying desperately to fulfill and idea and role he had been outgrowing. His obsession with it a bid to compensate for his failure.

The issue mostly came down to timing as it felt like focus was given to his resolutions and feelings in scenes where it came at the expense of others, IE Episode 9.

Conclusion: Looking over the 9 volumes of story, let alone the added material there is certainly a lot of stuff done well on these topics. But its also very easy to see where bits and piece did not quite fit together, or were otherwise unable to meet their potential. Still, I am glad CRWBY have the ambition to try these things, its part of what makes me love RWBY so much.

[bridgyrose]

Due to my utter loathing if Weiss' treatment in the latest volume I came up with this angst filled (to me) idea: Winter manages to save Weiss at the end of Vol 8, so she isn't there to support Ruby through her trauma and Blake and Yang are too busy beeing it up to notice. Anything you can make with this? Like a oneshot or something?

(getting this one out before the new episode because 1) I had ideas and 2) I dont want the next episode influencing how everything goes from here. Especially since Ruby is going to go through her identity crisis)

“I guess Weiss managed to make it, right?” Ruby asked with a weak smile. Her gaze shifted between Yang and Blake as she held her arm close to herself. “And if that’s the case, maybe she and Penny were able to keep Cinder at bay and the relic out of Salem’s hands.” 

Yang nodded and relaxed a bit as she looked up at the sky. “If that’s the case, then we’ll need to find a way out of here and get back to her to help.” She paused and sighed. “Wherever here is…” 

Ruby smiled nervously and moved Little from her head to her shoulder. Her mind still weighed heavy with the idea that she couldnt save Atlas in order to save the people, that an entire kingdom had to be destroyed and most of her team’s lives had to be “lost” in order to make sure Cinder couldnt win. And who was to say they could make it out of this place anyway? Maybe Yang had been right and they had died, which meant that if they were wrong…

“Ruby? Are you okay?” 

Ruby started to snap out of her thoughts as she heard Blake’s voice and slowly nodded and started to walk forward. “We find a way to the tree and then we see where we can go from there, right? Should be easy enough.” 

“Yeah but… we still dont know how to get there and our guide is a bit…” Blake looked over at the sleeping Little on Ruby’s shoulder. “Unreliable.” 

“They’re not unreliable, they’re just tired. Its been a long journey for them and the same for us. We should find somewhere to rest.” 

“I think I saw a cave when I was chasing that creature, maybe we can find it again,” Yang suggested.

Blake smiled and walked up next to Yang. “And then you can tell us more about that racoon that took your arm, right? It sounded a bit disarming.” 

“Maybe once we find the rodent. Though you really think this is the Ever After?” 

“Little did say that was what this place was called.” 

The sound of Blake’s and Yang’s voices started to fade away as Ruby quietly followed behind them, catching small glimpses of the two trying to hold hands. Her heart ached with each step as she worried about Weiss and Penny, no longer believing that everything ended up working out in the end. What if they fell too and ended up somewhere else, somewhere worse? Or maybe they ended up getting killed while keeping the relic away from Cinder. 

Ruby’s steps started to slow as she started to get lost in thought, once again being brought out of it by the sound of Yang’s and Blake’s voices. 

“This is the bridge Little was talking about, right?” Yang asked. 

Little stretched a bit as they woke and looked over to the bridge. “Yup, that’s the one! It’ll take us right over to the next acre and then we can find the Jinxy Peddlar. I’m sure he’ll still have what he took from Yang and maybe he can help us to the tree too.” 

Blake looked over at LIttle curiously. “But you said you know the way to the tree, right?” 

“I know the tree is that way,” Little said as she pointed towards the large tree. “But… this is actually the farthest I’ve been from my village. So… I dont actually know how to get there.” 

“Then we keep following what we know from the book.” Ruby took a few steps towards the bridge and looked across to the other acre. “Alyx talked to Jinxy first, then the Red King, where she ended up with help to get to the tree. All we have to do is follow her footsteps and we’ll get home in no time.” 

Yang looked over to Blake, then to Ruby. “And you’re sure this is a good idea? Even if we are in the Ever After, how do we know the Red King will help us?” 

“We challenge him to a game like Alyx did and I’m sure he’ll help us when we beat him.” 

Yang nodded and started to make her way across the bridge. “Arm first, then Red King. Shouldnt be too hard for us and then we can get home in no time!” 

Ruby smiled a bit and started to follow after Yang, eyes already set on her goal. She paused for a moment as she caught a glint of light from a tree and made her way over, pausing when she recognized Myrtenaster caught on the branch of a tree. Her arms shook as she slowly plucked it off, the sky darkening overhead as she gently fingered the blade. 

“Ruby, is everything okay?” Blake asked. “You’re starting to trail behind.” 

Ruby didnt quite hear as thunder crashed above her, rain starting to pour down from the sky. With a slow breath, she slowly sheathed the rapier against her belt and the rain cleared up around her. She started to take a few more steps to catch up to Yang and Blake, watching them as she fell a bit behind on the way to the village. 

The sky darkened as night fell and Ruby stared into the flames of the fire Blake had made as she held Weiss’s rapier close to her chest. They seemed to be no closer to the village Little had talked about or even the tree at the center of the Ever After, and any hope she had of seeing Weiss alive was starting to dwindle. 

“I’m sure Weiss is fine,” Yang said as she put a hand to Ruby’s shoulder. “When we get home, we’ll see her again. I know it.” 

“I… I know…” Ruby said as she slowly lowered the rapier to the ground. “But… what if everything we did was for nothing? What if Salem still ended up with the relic or if Penny and Weiss died? Everything we had done would’ve been for nothing and we’d be just as bad as Ironwood.” 

“You dont mean that, Rubes. Look, everything will work out. We just need to keep strong and keep moving. We’ll get home and find a way to stop Salem.” 

“That… doesnt matter if she ended up with the relic.” Ruby sighed and slowly laid down to sleep. “Nothing matters if Salem ends up destroying everything.” 

“You should let her sleep, Yang,” Blake said as she stopped Yang from trying to comfort Ruby further. “Its been a long couple days for all of us and sleep would do us all some good.Give us time to think things over.” 

Ruby curled up a bit as she watched Yang’s shadow pull away, silently wishing her sister would understand her. Of course she didnt really think she was like Ironwood, but it was hard to see otherwise. Everything in Atlas had gone wrong all because she made a call that she didnt see any other answers to. Cinder found out about their plan through the lamp, Ironwood tried to arrest them and nearly destroyed the kingdom to do so, and even if they did manage to save thousands, Atlas was still gone and she was to blame for it. And now, she wasnt even sure if Weiss or Penny had survived. And if they hadnt… 

Ruby shook her head to get the thoughts out of her mind. No, they had to have survived. Everything had to have worked out. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ruby, we have to go!” 

Ruby stood frozen as she held Penny’s blade in her hands, no longer sure of anything. There wasnt any sign of Penny or Weiss anywhere in the Ever After so far, though Weiss never would’ve let her blade leave her side and if part of Floating Array was down here…

“Ruby!” Yang said as she placed a hand on her shoulder. “We need to get out of here!” 

“R-right…” Ruby slowly tucked the piece of blade into her belt next to Myrtenaster, hand shaking as she did. Each step she took made her feet feel like they were being weighed down by lead, her heart pounding in her chest as she made her way forward and away from the village. Once she was far enough away, she pulled the green sword off her belt again and sat down as she looked over it and gently fingered it. 

Yang sat down next to her and sighed. “Ruby, I’m sure she’s alive. We’ll get home and we’ll find her again, okay?” 

Ruby nodded and wiped a tear from her eyes as she tried to push everything down again.  “Blake, Alyx went to the Red King after getting her knife from Jinxy, right?” 

“Yeah, and then from there, she met the curious cat, then the rusted knight, fought the jabberwalker, talked to the carpenter..” Blake sighed and looked out to a castle on a distant hill. “We’ve got a long way to go if we want to reach the tree by following her story.” 

“Then we talk to the Red King.” Ruby placed the sword back onto her hip and started to walk forward again. “And we get to the tree as quickly as we can.” She turned her back towards her teammates and hid the sorrow she felt in her heart. She had to be okay for them, she had to lead them to the tree. Everything had to be okay. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Penny… didnt make it.” 

Ruby’s heart nearly stopped as she heard those words from Jaune, still not quite believing that he had fallen too. And while he did mention that Weiss was saved from falling, it didnt make her feel any better that she nearly died because of her. Because of her choices. 

Jaune sighed and started to mount Juniper. “If we hurry now, we can get to my village.” 

“Your village?” Yang asked. “Arent we supposed to be looking for a way out?” 

“We will, but… its going to take time. There isnt exactly a way out as far as I can tell-” 

“What about the tree?” Blake motioned to the tree that towered over. “That’s how Alyx escaped.” 

“You wanted to go to the tree?! The tree is death!” Jaune caught his tone rising and took a moment to try to breathe. “The tree isnt a way out, its death. Besides, you cant get to the tree. I’ve tried. Though, now that I think about it, I’m surprised you made it all the way here on your own.” 

“Actually, we were getting help from the cat.” 

“What cat?” Jaune asked gruffly. 

“Oh there you are!” the Curious Cat said as he made his way to the group. “I thought I had lost you after the jabberwalkers attacked-” 

“Leave us alone!” Jaune yelled. 

Ruby practically flinched at Jaune’s outburst, finally starting to move again after hearing the news of Penny. Her arms shook as she reached for Myrtenaster and slowly clutched the hilt, her head still spinning from everything. The voices of her friends and teammates started to swirl around her head as they argued with the Curious Cat, her heart thumped in her chest. Finally, she had enough and finally spoke. 

“Shut. Up.” 

Everyone looked towards her, confused and worried. Yang tried to reach out, but was stopped as she started to walk away, arms shaking as she kept her hand on the hilt of Myrtenaster. Without another word, she raced off with her semblance in a flurry of petals, wanting to get away. She failed Penny, failed Atlas, nearly failed Weiss and all her teammates. She couldnt keep going, couldnt keep trying to make decisions if all they did was end up failing along the way. 

Finally, Ruby stopped and leaned against a tree, fingers trying to dig into it as she cried. 

“Ruby?” Little asked as she poked up from Ruby’s cloak. “Why did you run from your friends?” 

“You should leave.” 

“But Ruby-” 

“If you stay with me, you’ll only end up hurt!” Ruby took a breath and sighed. “Penny and Atlas are gone because of me, Weiss was almost killed, and now I’m not even sure of who I am! What makes me think I was ever ready for any of this?” 

“Ruby-” 

“Just go!” Ruby yelled. Her eyes stayed on Little as they ran off and she dropped down against the tree she leaned against. She put a hand to her heart and clutched at it. 

“I found you!” the curious cat said as they appeared through the trees and made their way to Ruby. “Your friends are worried about you. Maybe you should go back to them.” 

“I… I dont want to be me anymore..” Ruby wiped a few tears away from her eyes and sighed. “All I’ve done is mess things up. I’ve failed to keep people safe, made things worse… I… I cant…” 

The curious cat smiled and made their way onto Ruby’s lap. “Its okay, I’ll be you in your stead so you dont have to worry about this burden anymore.” 

“What-” Ruby screamed as she felt the cat’s claws push through her aura and start to sink into her, her arms going numb. She couldnt feel her body anymore, almost as if she was being pressed out of it as the cat sank further and further into her. “W-What are you doing?!” 

“Dont worry, my lost little huntress, I’m giving you what you want. You dont have to worry about being yourself anymore and I’ll take your place. All you have to do is take mine.” 

Ruby felt herself pushed out of her body, powerless to stop the cat as it finished sinking into her. The cat’s voice floated around in her mind as she watched her body pick itself up and grin with the same sharp teeth the cat had. 

“And I’ll make sure they all make it home. Eventually.” 

[chaikachi]

Not gonna lie bruh, I'm lowkey scared rg romance will end with either Ruby or Oscar's life sacrifice for some sort of heartbreaking,grand rwby finale with an emotional plot twist, they're too cute to be true 😭😭

y'all are free to witch hunt me if i end up being wrong but I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE IN A HAPPY ENDING!!!!

We know that RWBY has that tolkien-esque setup where everything gets so bleak and the stakes just keep raising, and the protags are sitting there really wondering how the hell they're supposed to win this... only for the light of a new day to peek over the horizon and remind us it's a story of hope. That it's a happy story.

RG has lived an arc of constant ""separations"" (or threats thereof) for volumes now.

In v5, Oscar rushes to Ruby's side worried she won't wake up. While Weiss is LITERALLY dying on the other side of the room. lmao.

In v6, Oscar goes missing and it's Ruby and her worry that's in focus when we hear the news.

In v7, they're in their break-up/divorce arc where they're disagreeing over what to do about Ironwood and spending time apart. They reunite briefly during the fumble when they "regain trust in each other" (dvd commentary) only to be separated again immediately after.

They reunite again at the beginning of v8, ("I'm just glad you're alright." /blush) then end up on separate teams. They focus on their second reunion ONCE AGAIN and it is interrupted, only for Ruby to fall into an alternate dimension.

Yes they are incredibly cute but all those separations and all their individual tragedies apart lead me to believe in a happier end. Esp cause we kinda had the 'happy cute relationship that ends horribly' already with Penny. Twice. RIP 🙏

Ruby's allusion isn't the brother's Grimm version of Little Red. It's cited on the wiki as Perrault's. Which is a story where the girl is swallowed up by the wolf at the end. No happy ending.

And Oscar's is The Little Prince, where he is separated from his Rose for much much longer than he wanted to be, and the ending is left open as to whether he died or did get to return home to her.

RWBY loves subverting the stories it pulls from. If both of these characters that are so pivotal to the narrative are inspired by those with endings so bleak... then I choose to believe we'll get the reverse. Especially because so much of this story is about doing better than those who came before.

"I'll be who you were and I'll be even more"

Ruby isn't going to become the next Summer. Oscar isn't going to be just another one of Oz's lives.

They will make it home after falling from the sky and through the world, and no, they won't be the same as when they left all those years ago... But the wicked witch will be gone, and they will be together, and that will be enough. 😤💕

[itsclydebitches]

Ruby’s angst is a sore point b/c I will always remember her crying over Salem mentioning her mom only to go back to being confrontational and smug to Ironwood and the Ace Ops.

This is why I harp on about tone so much in my recaps. It is crucial to keep things consistent (within reason) because otherwise your audience is going to start doubting the persuasiveness of this characterization. If Ruby breaks down over Summer's death and then immediately shrugs that off, transitioning into smug antagonism, my takeaway is going to be, "Well, I guess she wasn't that broken up about it" and "Well, I guess Ruby lacks the insight and critical thinking skills to realize that turning on her allies is just going to make Salem murdering more people easier."

If Ruby decides to start this battle and confidently expresses the inevitability of her win against Harriet, only to then start begging for them to lay down their weapons after taking a hit, the takeaway is that Ruby back-peddles on a position the moment she's no longer winning.

If Yang rushes to Ruby's side to comfort her while she sobs and then spends a Volume ignoring her equally obvious distress, the takeaway is that Yang is becoming a worse sister, likely because she's putting all her emotional energy into Blake instead.

If Blake was introduced as a no-nonsense activist willing to get up in anyone's face and then shrinks before an angry friend, the takeaway is that she's grown more passive as the series has gone on.

If Weiss loses her entire Kingdom and then spends the first half of the Volume being used purely as the comic relief, the takeaway is that this tragedy hasn't actually hit her very hard and we shouldn't buy into these incredibly brief moments of grief.

If the group says they don't want to run anymore and then the very first fight they come across results in them running away, the takeaway is that these are heroes who talk big, but can't make those promises a reality.

Similarly, if the group hugs and makes the occasional speech about how much they love each other, but then turn around and criticize, become suspicious of, and dismiss Jaune in his ultimate time of need, the takeaway is that their care is hollow and will falter once the going gets tough.

If Ruby spends whole Volumes active bubbly, optimistic, confident, driven, and at times extraordinarily arrogant, but then kills herself after two days of mental health struggles, the takeaway is that RT is willing to use suicide as a cheap spectacle, rather than a real life issue that must be written with care and proper buildup.

If the show pushes a found-family dynamic and then has four members of that family simply stand there while Ruby kills herself... yeah, the takeaway is, "Wow. They didn't care about stopping her much then, huh?"

We know the characters are supposed to love each other. We know that we're supposed to come up with some easy explanation like, "They were in shock!" But if you actually take what's happening on screen - which, you know, is the backbone of analysis - RT continually undermines the core messages of RWBY through badly managed tone and inconsistent characterization. Every scene is a puzzle piece creating a whole and if the pieces don't fit... well, then the picture is nonsensical. It's not the job of the person observing the puzzle to go, "Well, it certainly looks like this is made up primarily of confused colors, textures, and images, but if I just imagine that all these pieces are different from what's actually in front of me, then the puzzle is perfect!"

[bug-the-chicken-nug]

i know this isn't really The Point they're going for in v9 but man i wish Alyx could just be like.

Genuinely a really sweet, caring, sensitive kind of girl, with the flaws that can come with that instead: Shy, naive, a crybaby, kind of a coward, scared to hurt anyone's feelings, etc.

With the theme of her original story being that it's about learning to stand up for yourself and others, while also staying true to yourself.

Because in the context of her being a black girl (girls typically read as more "naturally" mean and aggressive) and her being in a show about girls who are all supposed to be conventionally strong and brave and good at fighting, this *does* actually loop back to being subversive, and it could be used in some genuinely interesting ways.

Mainly I'm thinking of the girls like originally discussing the story in a way that indicates their culture sees it as a "babyish" story. In the early volume, Yang and Weiss keep taking cheap shots at it all and rolling their eyes at their memories of what a boring little goody-two-shoes Alyx was, and how trite and childish it all seemed even when they were little kids themselves.

Blake tries to defend it, but they don't take her defenses too seriously, while Ruby is too moody to have much input on it either way, but Yang mentions that even Ruby mostly only liked it for the bright colors.

And then a lot more denizens turn out to remember and miss Alyx, in the case of ruder or blunter ones often straight up making commentary about how the girls don't measure up to her.

This offends the group at first, because to be fair some of these comments really are pretty fuckin uncalled for, and plus, they just don't really... Get it.

Despite Alyx hating to fight and having been written as crying and shaking the one time the events of the book forced her to, despite her not even actually *winning* that fight, almost everyone here seems to regard her as more heroic and admirable than our mains.

And Ruby is the first to truly see why: Because for all of her faults, at least Alyx was always *careful* and *considerate*. Alyx always admitted it when she needed help, and didn't try to bite off more than she could chew. Alyx was patient and diplomatic, she *listened* to people, didn't make promises she couldn't keep, and didn't even have a Semblance, but still managed to make things *better* for each character she met, not *worse*.

Meanwhile, the group has still just been causing trouble everywhere they turn up, and they're starting to realize that they can't blame *all* of this on the Afterans just being weird.

This would also end up tying in well with the troubled reaction Ruby has to getting Crescent Rose back, although I would not have Jaune have it, and only have Ruby get it back after an epiphany about how she doesn't actually *need* it to do what's right, or to have a positive impact on others, but keep her conflicted emotions on finding it again, as the weapon reminds her of her own past overconfidence and recklessness, her own belief that she could both literally and metaphorically just cut right through anyone or anything that didn't agree with her.

Also as much as a ton of people hate Jaune right now I honestly think he would've been a cool "villain" to illustrate the flipside of these messages. Like. Neo's great and all but she feels really superfluous and not exactly compelling enough to be the primary villain of the volume at this point.

I'm imagining Jaune being the same age, but the one with Penny's sword now, physically unable to let go of it, in some sort of daze of grief and self-loathing that's being further amplified by some aspect of the Ever After.

He is driven chiefly by a belief by if he'd only been "stronger", everything would've been better.

And in a twisted way, he gets his wish.

It turns out his Semblance can actually resonate with and empower a lingering "imprint" of Aura in Penny's sword to both make it stronger and to give him a sort of bastardized shadow of the Winter Maiden powers.

(Winter still has the "real" version, this is like explicitly a twisted, harmful bootleg version that would also be animated differently from any other usage of Maiden abilities.)

Using it harms him as well, and it's noted that Jaune seriously might eventually freeze himself to death just by continuing to hold on to the sword. His presence is also always preceded by a sudden chill.

Ruby quickly realizes and begins to have a crisis over the implication of Jaune being able to tap into a lingering fragment of Penny's Aura.

Namely, does that mean Penny is in some way... *actually still there?* And potentially *suffering*?

You could use the blacksmith lady to like foreshadow and then kinda explain how all of this is even a thing, so it's less confusing.

And then we get an actual answer to this question! 'Cause the big climax of the volume is now Jaune smacking the group around, they just barely get the upper hand again, and then Jaune uses the last of his strength, shifts the sword into MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE, everything looks Real Bad, but then...

The sword just... Explodes?

And out comes Penny's glowy green Aura ghost, who Jaune inadvertantly powered up enough for her to materialize herself, and whose first order of business is to turn around and briefly apologize before slapping the shit out of Jaune... Which goes right through him physically, but DOES seem to be able to immediately exorcize whatever horseshit was corrupting him.

Her second order of business is to be like "FINALLY! NOW maybe you'll LISTEN to me, Jaune!"

While Ruby is just standing there gaping like "A."

Before anyone (including the audience) can get their hopes up, Penny quickly explains that this is likely only a temporary affair brought about by how much Jaune has strengthened her, and that she can "already feel herself fading", but then smiles and adds on that she's super excited to see Ruby (likely followed by trying and failing to tackle-hug her because that just makes Penny fly straight through her)

Ruby, still, except this time she's clearly tearing up: "A,,,"

Followed by a conversation where Ruby gets closure and Jaune comes clean, but then Ruby confesses that honestly, even with Penny trying to tell her that she asked to be sacrificed and that Ruby should forgive Jaune... Ruby can't. At least not yet.

Ruby ruefully adds "No wonder nobody here really likes me..." to that, to which Penny immediately replies

"But *I* like you!"

And Ruby just scoffs and goes "Do you? Even though your death is my fault too?"

And Penny just sadly replies "Of course. Do you really have so little faith in me?", which kinda gets to Ruby, as it reminds her that her funk is negatively affecting others too. And that in a way, insisting that she's the worst person in the world is still a form of self-centeredness, just as it was to believe that she had all the answers.

She's silent until Penny begins noticeably fading away and dissolving into particles of light, which has Ruby going "Wait! Don't go! Jaune! Jaune, do something!"

But Jaune is of course Spent As Fuck and also probably has lowkey been struggling to stay conscious through this whole conversation, so they have no choice but to make this quick.

Penny gives Ruby one last fond, sorrowful look and says "I'm sorry not everything can go like it does in this story, Ruby. But you? You're still *writing* your story. And I for one can't wait to see how it ends! "

"You're not going to, though! You're never going to, because you-because you're-"

"Once again, Ruby: Do you really have so little faith in me?" Penny says with a teasing grin, before disappearing completely.

Aaand thats a wrap.

Yes it's weird and kind of cheesy, but your honor, my defense is that this whole show is weird and kind of cheesy.

[anthurak]

IQ and the Destiny of Pyrrha Nikos (I’m sorry)

So I just had an... interesting idea about the role Pyrrha could end up playing in Ice Queendom. More specifically, the redesign Pyrrha.

Building off of this post I made theorizing about Weiss, Ruby and Pyrrha in IQ, I have a pretty good feeling that this Pyrrha...

...ISN’T the actual Pyrrha, but rather an idealized version of Pyrrha created by Weiss’s Nightmare-coma-dream as the partner Weiss wanted instead of Ruby and also possibly her girlfriend and future wife. Basically, this assumes that it’s JUST going to be Ruby, Blake and Yang going into Weiss’s nightmare, with all the other characters in there being constructs of Weiss’s subconscious.

Now when Ruby, Blake and Yang finally get through to Weiss and she has her big character epiphany and realizes she wants to wake up, I think it’s pretty easy to imagine that the Nightmare world will start fighting back in an attempt to keep Weiss forcefully imprisoned. Which means the dream starts resisting and everyone Team RWBY has met in this dream world is turned into some dark, twisted form and attacks them.

Except for Pyrrha.

Because this is Weiss’s idealized vision of Pyrrha. The woman whom Weiss views as the strongest, bravest, most caring person she knows. This Pyrrha simply won’t turn on Weiss, Ruby, Yang and Blake, because Weiss’s subconscious simply made her too strong for the Nightmare to control.

This means that the final battle of the show is Team RWBY + Pyrrha battling their way through the Nightmare’s forces to escape.

Except of course, they can’t all escape. Because this Pyrrha isn’t truly real. Just a collection of Weiss’s feelings given form by the very Nightmare they need to destroy. This Pyrrha can’t exist. And she knows this. And she’s okay with that.

Because she’s Pyrrha Nikos. The strongest, bravest, most caring person Weiss knows.

And so, we get a scene of Pyrrha having a tearful, tragic goodbye with Weiss and her team, likely reminiscent of certain other scene Pyrrha is known for (and DEFINITELY involving ‘Do you believe in destiny?’), with Pyrrha thanking Weiss for what little time they had together and asking Ruby to take care of her partner. Then Pyrrha takes on whatever final boss the Nightmare has created one-on-one, a fight she probably can’t win, to buy RWBY time to destroy the Nightmare and escape. Maybe she does find a way to win. But when the Nightmare finally crumbles, she is reduced to dust all the same.

Thus Ice Queendom finds a way to give us a Pyrrha death without even getting to Volume 3.